The court can quash criminal proceedings involving non-compoundable offences if the crime is purely individual in nature and the parties have come to an amicable settlement.

JUDGMENT :

(Prayer in Crl.O.P.No.17813 of 2021: Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, to direct the IX Metropolitan Magistrate, Saidapet, Chennai to take the petition on file filed by the petitioner herein in unnumbered D.V.C.No. of 2021 and number the same and to adjudicate the same in accordance with law.

Prayer in Crl.O.P.No.13056 of 2021: Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, to call for the records in P.R.C.No.64 of 2021 on the file of the IX Metropolitan Magistrate, Saidapet, Chennai and quash the entire proceedings in sofar as the petitioner is concerned.

[Prayer in Crl.O.P.No.13056 of 2021 was amended as per order in Crl.M.P.No.2223 of 2022 in Crl.O.P.No.13056 of 2021, dated 08.04.2022.])

1. CRL.O.P.No.17813 of 2021 has been filed to direct the learned IX Metropolitan Magistrate, Saidapet, Chennai to take the petition on file filed by the petitioner in unnumbered D.V.C.No. of 2021 and number the same and to adjudicate the same, in accordance with law.

2. CRL.O.P.No.13056 of 2021 has been filed to quash the proceedings in P.R.C.No.64 of 2021, on the file of the IX Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Saidapet, Chennai.

3. For the sake of convenience and clarity, the petitioner in Crl.O.P.No.17813 of 2021 and the 2nd respondent in Crl.O.P.No.13056 of 2021 is referred to as 'Defacto complainant' and the respondent in Crl.O.P.No.17813 of 2021 and the petitioner in Crl.O.P.No.13056 of 2021 is referred to as 'Accused'.

4. The case is still in the stage of trial. By passage of time, the parties have decided to bury their hatchet and compromise the dispute amicably among themselves.

5. The defacto complainant is present before this Court and she was identified by her learned counsel Mr.M.Maharaja and Mrs.E.Vijaya Kumari, Inspector of Police, W19 Adyar All Women Police Station, Chennai, who is also present at the time of hearing. In order to identify the defacto complainant, the learned counsel for the defacto complainant also produced the copy of the Aadhaar Card and it is made part of the record. In the affidavits, she has stated that she gave the complaint against the petitioner due to wrong advice and now, she does not want to proceed further and withdraw the proceedings in P.R.C.No.64 of 2021 and the Domestic Violence complaint (unnumbered), on the file of the IX Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Saidapet, Chennai. The affidavits of the defacto complainant are taken on record.

6. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of the respondent submitted that though the parties entered into a compromise while this case is pending, this Court, taking into account the seriousness of the offence has to consider the issue as to whether an offence of this nature can be quashed on the ground of compromise between parties.

7. In this regard, it is relevant to refer the judgment of the learned Single Judge of this Court in Sabari v. Inspector of Police reported in 2019 (3) MLJ Crl 110, wherein the learned single Judge had discussed in detail about the cases in which persons of the age group of 16 to 18 years are involved in love affairs and how in some cases ultimately end up in a criminal case booked for an offence under the POSCO Act. The relevant portions of the judgment are extracted hereunder for proper appreciation:-

“21. When this case was taken up for hearing, this Court became concerned about the growing incidence of offences under the POCSO Act on one side and also the Rigorous Imprisonment envisaged in the Act. Sometimes it happens that such offences are slapped against teenagers, who fall victim of the application of the POCSO Act at an young age without understanding the implication of the severity of the enactment.

26. In addition to the above, this Court is of the view that 'warning' of attraction of POCSO Act must be displayed before screening of any film, which have teenage characters suggesting relationship between boy and gir