IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK CRLMC No.2198 of 2025 Ambuj Sharma . Petitioner Mr. Bigyan Kumar Sharma, Sr. Advocate -versus-

State of Orissa and Anr. . Opp. Parties Mr.C.M.singh, A.S.C.

Mr. Deepak Kumar Sahoo, Adv. For O.P. No.2 CORAM:

THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE A.K. MOHAPATRA _____________________________________________________

Date of hearing: 29.01.2026 | Date of Judgment: 01.05.2026 ______________________________________________________

A.K. Mohapatra, J. :

1. The present CRLMC petition has been filed by the Petitioner with a prayer to quash the Chargesheet bearing CS No.270 dated 31.08.2020, at Annexure-2, and the subsequent criminal proceeding bearing C.T(s) No.28 of 2020 pending in the Court of the learned Ad hoc Additional District & Sessions Judge (FTSC), Angul.

FACTS OF THE CASE

2. The genesis of the dispute, as gathered from the F.I.R and the Chargesheet at Annexures-1 and 2 respectively, in a nutshell, is as follows; On 20.04.2020, the Informant-Opposite Party No.2 (Debajani Pattanaik), then aged approximately 32 years, lodged an FIR before the Banarpal Police Station alleging that approximately three years prior to the date of the complaint, while the informant was working in a private company, she met the accused- Petitioner and developed a friendship with him. The Informant-Opposite Party No.2 has specifically alleged that on the 5th of June, 2016, the Petitioner took her to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) site at Kanhia, booked a room at one Hotel Kesari, and had forcible sexual intercourse with her. It has been further alleged in the F.I.R that upon protest, the Petitioner had assured the Informant that he would marry her, and on the strength of that assurance, the physical relationship between the parties continued some time. The F.I.R also reveals that when the informant-Opposite Party No.2 protested the Petitioner’s attempt to have sexual relationship with her, the Petitioner threatened to publicly circulate compromised photos and videos of her on social media.

3. The Informant has alleged that the Petitioner, despite his promise, ultimately denied to marry her on the basis of caste and cultural differences and married another person. The F.I.R also reveals that the Petitioner’s father and his friends have also threatened injury upon the Informant. Consequently, the Informant lodged the instant FIR, at Annexure-1, on 20.04.2020 against the Petitioner and his parents, and, pursuant thereto P.S. Case No.104 dated 20.04.2020 was registered for commission of offences under Sections 376(2)(n)/506/34 of the IPC. Thereafter, upon a thorough investigation, the C.S No.270 dated 31.08.2020, a copy of which is present at Annexure-2, was filed exclusively against the Petitioner under Section 376(2)(n) of the IPC. Following committal proceedings, the case was numbered as C.T (S) Case No. 28 of 2020 and assigned to the Court of the learned Adhoc Additional District & Sessions Judge (FTSC), Angul. As of the date of filing of the present petition, the trial has not yet commenced.

4. It is pertinent to mention herein that in the interregnum between the filing of the charge sheet and the filing of the present petition, the parties have, as per the averments taken in the CRLMC petition, arrived at a full and final amicable settlement of their dispute. It is in this context that the present CRLMC petition has been filed by the accused-Petitioner with the aforementioned prayer. Earlier, by order dated 03.09.2025, pursuant to the averment taken in the CRLMC petition that the matter has been settled between the parties, this Court had directed the parties to file a Joint Affidavit setting out the alleged settlement and the terms, if any, thereof. In compliance, a Joint Affidavit has been filed on 08.09.2025, signed by both the Petitioner and the Informant-Opposite Party No.2, stating that a settlement was reached between the parties voluntarily and without any coercion, threat, or duress, and that the Informant-Oppos