Image Courtesy:timesofindia.indiatimes.com
The Delhi High Court has refused to the quash the FIR accusing a man of rape, cheating, forgery, intimidation alleging that he falsely represented himself by concealing his identity and established a physical relationship with a Hindu girl on the promise of marriage.
Justice Subramonium Prasad said that, “…it is evident that the petitioner has been accused of serious offences like rape and forgery having a bearing on vital societal interest and these offences cannot be construed to be merely private or civil disputes but rather will have an effect on the society at large. In crimes which seriously endangers the well-being of the society, it is not safe to leave the crime doer only because he and the victim have settled the dispute amicably.”
The court was hearing a prayer to quash the FIR against the petitioner/accused who stated that the parties have amicably settled their dispute. The complainant (Hindu woman) alleged that the petitioner met her, revealed his fake name, established a physical relationship with her on the pretext of marriage.
Further, she contended that the petitioner took her to Arya Samaj Mandir to get married and in the marriage certificate, he disclosed his real name. She further alleged that the petitioner started demanding money soon after their marriage and in one instance when she went to visit his parents, they refused to meet her.
But the present petition was filed as the petitioner submitted that the woman/complainant had pardoned him and that they were willing to lead their marital life peacefully. After hearing the parties, the court observed that the status report mentions that he did hide his identity “and was sexually exploiting the respondent No.2 for five years.” The petitioner also owns two Aadhaar cards with two different names. The marriage certificate from the Trust was also discovered to be fake.
On the issue of technical legalities, Justice Prasad observed that although the power to quash proceedings in non-compoundable offences under Section 482 CrPC was recognised, the same had to be differentiated from the power of compounding offences under Section 320 CrPC. So, the court referred to several judicial pronouncements on quashing of FIRs in non-compoundable offences like the present matter and noted, “It has been repeatedly stated by the Supreme Court that when parties reach settlement and on that basis a petition is filed for quashing criminal proceedings, the guiding factor for the High Court before quashing the complaint in such cases would be to secure; a) ends of justice, b) to prevent abuse of process of any court.”
Applying this principle, the Delhi High Court held that, “An offence of rape is an offence against the society at large” and apart from offence under Section 376, the petitioner is also accused of committing offences of intimidation, forgery, cheating, fraud etc. Hence, it refused to quash the FIR and dismissed his plea.
The order may be read here:
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