IMPORTANT POINT
An FIR for a serious offence like rape should not be quashed on the basis of a settlement or compromise. The court expressed concern over the conduct of the learned Trial Court Judge in suggesting a compromise and emphasized the need for fairness and justice in the trial process.

JUDGMENT

INDEX TO THE JUDGMENT

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

I. Facts of the Case

II. The Investigation

ARGUMENTS ADDRESSED BEFORE THIS COURT

QUASHING OF FIR ON THE BASIS OF SETTLEMENT: PRINCIPLES TO BE FOLLOWED

I. General Principles

II. Can FIR registered under Section 376 of IPC be Quashed on the Basis of Compromise?

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

I. Circumstances Leading To Execution Of Settlement Agreement Between The Accused And The Victim In the Present Case

Contents of Settlement Agreement

II. Beyond Bargain: Can Monetary Consideration Become Ground for Quashing FIR Registered under Section 376 of IPC?

III. The Role of Learned Trial Court

CONCLUSION

Swarana Kanta Sharma, J.

1. At the threshold of adjudication in the present case lies an important question for consideration: Should this Court invoke its inherent powers to quash an FIR alleging commission of offence of rape, on the ground of matter having been compromised between the accused and the victim? What increases this dilemma is the revelation that the very suggestion to explore such a compromise emanated not from the disputing parties, but from the learned Trial Judge itself.

2. The petitioner has approached this Court, by way of present petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ('Cr.P.C), seeking quashing of FIR bearing no. 389/2020, registered against the petitioner at Police Station Vasant Kunj North, Delhi, for the offence punishable under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ('IPC') and all consequential proceedings emanating therefrom, on the ground that the matter has been settled and compromised between the parties.

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

I. Facts of the Case

3. On, 15.10.2020, a complaint was received by the police against the accused i.e. petitioner, regarding commission of rape and blackmailing the victim i.e. respondent no. 2 by extending threats of making her photographs viral on social media. The victim had mentioned in her complaint that her husband used to remain out of station most of the time, and in the month of April, she had befriended the accused/petitioner on Facebook, who had impersonated himself as a traffic policeman, who was a bachelor and deployed on duty in Tughlaqabad, Delhi. The victim had sent a message to him and thereafter, she had also disclosed her address to him. As alleged, the accused had visited her at 6:00 AM on 23.08.2020 when her husband had gone out, and he had also brought some snacks and cold drinks. The accused had asked the victim to bring a glass and had poured the cold drink into that glass and had offered the same to her. It is alleged that the victim had become unconscious immediately after drinking the cold drink and when she had regained consciousness, she had found herself in bed, without any clothes, and the accused was also sitting on the bed. The accused had then shown her some nude photographs and had told her that from now onwards, she will have to follow the commands of the accused, or else, he would upload her inappropriate photographs on social media. It is further alleged that the accused had also told her that he will send a boy in the evening and she should come along with him. At about 7:30 PM on the same day, a boy had come outside her house in a white colour Santro Car, and he had taken her in the said vehicle to a hotel. The accused had met the victim there and had taken her to a hotel located in front of Gurgaon Bus Stand and had committed rape upon her at 12:30 AM including unnatural sex with her forcibly, and had thereafter dropped her at her house on the next day morning. He had also allegedly extended threats to her that if she disclosed the details of these incidents to anyone, he would post her photographs on social media and also show the same to her parents and her husband. The accused had also told her that whenever he would call, she would have to come, or else, he would kill her husband. On 02.09.2020, the accused had visited the victim's house and had again established