Compounding of non-compoundable offences is distinguishable from quashing criminal proceedings; the latter can occur if there is no public interest involvement and the matter is amicably settled.

ORDER :

Prem Narayan Singh, J.

1.The petitioner has filed the present petition under Section 482 of CrPC for quashment of FIR bearing Crime No.52/2023 dated 12/09/2023 registered at P.S. Crime Branch, Indore for offence u/s 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC, 1860.

2. Brief facts of the case are that on 02.05.2023, complainant Yamini filed a written complaint that she developed a friendship on social media with one Mohit. On 29/09/2022, Mohit made a Whatsapp call through his mobile number and told her that one of his shipment has been stopped by Customs Department at Vishakhapatnam Port, (Andra Pradesh) and his account has also been freezed by concerned authorities and he asked for monetary help from her. On this she transferred Rs. 57,998/- on 29/09/2022, Rs.40,000/- on 04/10/2022, and Rs.30,000/- on 05/10/2022 whereby a total amount of Rs. 1,27,998/- was transferred through M.P. Online. But after some time, Mohit has switched off his mobile. On this complaint, police registered the case. During investigation, it was found that one Aman Raghuvanshi has disbursed the amount from Kiyosk of M.P. Online. On this, police arrested Aman @ Mohit Raghuvanshi and on his disclosure memo recorded under Section 27 of EVIDENCE ACT , applicant has been implicated and arrested in the present crime.

3. In this case both the parties have amicably settled and resolved their dispute and do not want to prosecute the case. They have filed compromise application and this Court vide order dated 01.10.2024 directed for verification of the compromise and the same has been duly verified by Principal Registrar. As per the verification report received from the Principal Registrar, both the parties have settled their dispute amicably on the factum of compromise, the petitioner prays for quashment of FIR registered at Crime No.52/2023 dated 12/09/2023 registered at P.S. Crime Branch, Indore for offence under Sections 420 , 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC, 1860 and the consequential proceedings arising out of it.

4. Learned counsel for the objector has expressed his no objection and submitted that since both the parties have settled their dispute, the matter is not called for further criminal trial and the criminal proceedings may be quashed.

5. However, learned State Counsel has opposed the prayer to quash the FIR,.

6. From the face of report, it is clear that the offence under sections 467, 468 and 471 IPC are non-compoundable.

7. In view of the above, it would be apposite to survey the law in respect of compounding in non-compoundable case. The Apex Court in the case of Gian Singh Vs. State of Punjab and Anr. reported in (2012) 10 SCC 303 after considering the the provisions of section 320 and 482 of the Cr.P.C held that the compounding can he permitted in a non-compoundable offence.

Relevant part of the order reads as under :-

"Quashing of offence or criminal proceedings on the ground of settlement between an offender and victim is not the same thing as compounding of offence. They are different and not interchangeable. Strictly speaking, the power of compounding of offences given to a court under Section 320 is materially different from the quashing of criminal proceedings by the High Court in exercise of its inherent jurisdiction. In compounding of offences, power of a criminal court is circumscribed by the provisions contained in Section 320 and the court is guided solely and squarely thereby while, on the other hand, the formation of opinion by the High Court for quashing a criminal offence or criminal proceeding or criminal complaint is guided by