The main legal point established in the judgment is the need for amicable resolution of disputes and the principles guiding the exercise of power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. to quash criminal proceedings based on settlement between the parties, emphasizing the sparing and cautious use of such power.

P.S.TEJI, J. (Oral)

1. The present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 482 Cr.P.C. has been filed by the petitioner, namely, Sh. Rakesh Kumar Meena for quashing of FIR No.178/2016 dated 05.02.2016, under Sections 354(A)/354(D) IPC registered at Police Station Mukherjee Nagar on the basis of the settlement between the petitioner and respondent no.2 namely, Ms. Rajani Dahiya.

2. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor for respondent-State submitted that the respondent no.2 present in the Court has been identified to be complainant/first-informant the in the FIR in question by ASI Jaichand.

3. The factual matrix of the present case is that the on 04.02.2016, the accused came riding on a bike with his roommate and rode past the complainant and her friend. It is alleged that the accused rode past them very speedily and within a very short distance from the complainant and her friend and further made lewd gestures at them. It is alleged that the complainant was being teased and harassed by the accused since the past three months from the date of the FIR in question.

Thereafter, the complainant got lodged a complaint following which the FIR in question was registered against the accused person. The parties later arrived at an amicable settlement.

4. Respondent No.2 present in the Court submitted that the dispute between the parties has been amicably resolved. As per the settlement it is agreed between the parties that the dispute was due to some misunderstanding which has now been resolved with the intervention of friends and relatives of the parties.

Respondent No.2 affirmed the contents of the aforesaid settlement of her affidavit dated 28.07.2016 supporting this petition. In the affidavit, she has stated that she has no objection if the FIR in question is quashed. All the disputes and differences have been resolved through mutual consent. Now no dispute with petitioner survives and so, the proceedings arising out of the FIR in question be brought to an end. Statement of the respondent no. 2 has been recorded in this regard in which she stated that she has entered into a compromise with the petitioner and has settled all the disputes with him. She further stated that she has no objection if the FIR in question is quashed.

5. In Gian Singh v. State of Punjab (2012) 10 SCC 303 Apex Court has recognized the need of amicable resolution of disputes in cases like the instant one, by observing as under:-

“61. In other words, the High Court must consider whether it would be unfair or contrary to the interest of justice to continue with the criminal proceedings or continuation of criminal proceedings would tantamount to abuse of process of law despite settlement and compromise between the victim and the wrongdoer and whether to secure the ends of justice, it is appropriate that criminal case is put to an end and if the answer to the above question(s) is in the affirmative, the High Court shall be well within its jurisdiction to quash the criminal proceedings.”

6. The aforesaid dictum stands reiterated by the Apex Court in a recent judgment in Narinder Singh v. State of Punjab (2014) 6 SCC 466. The relevant observations of the Apex Court in Narinder Singh (Supra) are as under:-

“29. In view of the aforesaid discussion, we sum up and lay down the following principles by which the High Court would be guided in giving adequate treatment to the settlement between the parties and exercising its power under Section 482 of the Code while accepting the settlement and quashing the proceedings or refusing to accept the settlement with direction to continue with the criminal proceedings:

29.1 Power conferred under Section 482 of the Code is to be distinguished from the power which lies in the Court to compound the offences under Section 320 of the Code. No doubt, under Section 482 of the Code, the High Court has inherent power to quash the criminal proceedings even in those cases which are not compoundable, where the part