Voluntary settlement and marriage between the parties can be considered for quashing FIR.

ORDER

1. The petitioner vide the present petition under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C., 1973, seeks the quashing of the FIR No. 263/2021 Police Station Timarpur registered under Sections 376/312/313/417 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, submitting to the effect that the petitioner is a doctor by profession and senior resident from LHMC, Delhi, and after that employed in a government hospital and the respondent No.2 is pursuing her Ph.D. Research, and also working as an Assistant Professor at BM College of Technology & Management, Farrukh Nagar, Gurgaon. It has been submitted through the petition that the petitioner in 2015 was preparing for entrance exam when he met the respondent No.2 through a common friend and that both the petitioner and the respondent No.2 belong to the same community i.e. Indigenous ADI Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. That the petitioner and the respondent No.2 have since married and their marriage was also blessed by the family of either side.

2. As per the averments made in the petition, the FIR was originally lodged as a Zero FIR reference WPSC No.00 of 2021 under Sections 376/312/313/417 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 on the date 18.6.2021 on the basis of a written complaint submitted by the respondent No.2 against the petitioner since the petitioner could not meet the respondent no.2 after the month of March 2021 as the petitioner was busy in attending interviews for seeking the government job during that period but the same was not understood properly by the respondent no.2 and a misunderstanding led to the lodging of the FIR against the petitioner.

3. The petitioner is indicated to have applied for the grant of anticipatory bail after the registration of the FIR. It has been submitted on behalf of the applicant and not refuted on behalf of the State that the applicant had since been granted interim bail on 1.10.2021 by the Sessions Court.

4. The Investigating Officer of the case has identified the petitioner, who has joined the proceedings through video conferencing, as being the accused arrayed in relation to the FIR No. 263/2021 Police Station Timarpur registered under Sections 376/312/313/417 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the respondent No.2, who earlier joined the proceedings through video conferencing and now present in Court, as being the complainant of the FIR in question.

5. The respondent No.2 in her deposition on oath in replies to specific Court queries affirmed having entered into a Memorandum of Understanding dated 31.8.2021 with the petitioner and states that she has signed the Memorandum of Understanding voluntarily of her own accord without any duress, pressure or coercion from any quarter. The respondent No.2 further states that she has since been married to the petitioner on 7.9.2021. She further states that she wants to live peacefully and happily with the petitioner and thus she does not want to pursue her FIR any further nor does she want the petitioner to be punished in relation thereto and she does not oppose the prayer made by the petitioner seeking the quashing of the FIR in question.

6. Inter alia, the respondent No.2 states that she is pursuing her Ph.D. in English (Literature) and also works as an Assistant Professor (English, Lit.) at BM College of Technology & Management, Farrukh Nagar, Gurgaon. She further states that she has understood the implications of making her statement and states that the FIR was lodged pursuant to a misunderstanding between her and the petitioner.

7. Though the allegations in the instant case relate to offences punishable under Sections 376/312/313/417 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860,however, it cannot be overlooked that the allegations against the petitioner levelled by the respondent No.2 are wholly personal in nature and the respondent No.2 has categorically affirmed having married the petitioner on 7.9.2021.

8. The State vide order dated 15.9.2021 was directed to conduct a verification in relation to Annexure P-4 (Colly) placed on rec