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Synopsis

The Kerala High Court has ruled that crimes like rape and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act offences, which tarnish a woman's dignity and honour, cannot be quashed on compromise or settlement. However, in exceptional cases where the accused and victim have married and are living together peacefully, the court may consider quashing the case on humanitarian grounds.

Justice A. Badharudeen, delivered the verdict, quashing a case against a man who had allegedly sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl, resulting in her pregnancy. The accused man faced charges of kidnapping and rape under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the POCSO Act in 2021. The victim’s mother was also charged for failing to report the crime. However, by 2024, the accused and the victim had submitted a plea to the High Court to quash the criminal case, citing that they had resolved the matter privately. An affidavit from the now-adult victim, along with their marriage certificate, was presented to the Court, confirming the union between the victim and the accused. Both the victim’s counsel and the Public Prosecutor corroborated the settlement, asserting that the couple's marriage and family life were intact and happy.

The court noted that “In such cases, the tough nut stand in the way of settlement shall be crushed with humanitarian consideration as the hammer, so as to ensure the peaceful family living of the parties and most importantly to ensure the well being of the children born to them. Hence, there is no necessity to continue criminal proceedings so as to retain them in the hazards of litigation and to collapse their married life and the well being of the children.”

The court emphasised that serious offences like rape and POCSO Act offences cannot be quashed based on settlement between the accused and victim. It acknowledged that “Dignity of a woman is a part of her non-perishable and immortal self and no one should ever think of painting it in clay. There cannot be a compromise or settlement as it would be against her honour which matters the most. It is sacrosanct.”

Despite acknowledging the potential societal implications of permitting settlements in such serious cases, the Court determined that in this specific instance, humanitarian concerns justified the quashing of the charges to avoid disrupting the family’s stability. “In view of the matter, in deviation from the general principle, this is a fit case, where quashment is liable to be allowed,” the court stated.

Conclusively, the plea was allowed and all the proceedings against the accused were quashed.

 

Cause Title: XXX v State of Kerala [Crl.M.C. No. 2031 of 2024]