Court holds that allegations of aggravated penetrative sexual assault on a child are heinous offences with serious societal impact and cannot be settled privately.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition seeking quashing of an FIR registered under Sections 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, holding that such serious sexual offences cannot be wiped out on the basis of a compromise with the child victim or her family.
Justice Sachin Datta, while hearing the plea filed by Anand Singh Rawat, noted that the allegations involved aggravated penetrative sexual assault upon a child by a person in a position of trust or authority. The petitioner had sought quashing of FIR No. 083/2022 and the proceedings arising from it, claiming that a settlement had been reached with the victim through family intervention.
The Court rejected the request, observing that offences under Section 376 IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act are heinous in nature and have a serious impact on society. Such offences, the Court said, are not private disputes that can be settled between parties for the purpose of terminating criminal proceedings.
Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Gian Singh v. State of Punjab, the High Court reiterated that although it has wide inherent powers under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code to quash proceedings in appropriate cases, that power cannot be used in cases involving grave offences of mental depravity or sexual offences. The Court reproduced the Supreme Court’s observation that offences like rape cannot be fittingly quashed even if the victim and accused have settled the matter, since such crimes are not private in nature and affect society at large.
The Court further held that permitting compromise in a POCSO matter would defeat the very object of the statute as well as the ends of justice. It therefore refused to quash the FIR or the criminal proceedings, clarifying that its observations should not be treated as any opinion on the merits of the case, which will be decided by the trial court on the basis of evidence.
Bottom Line :
POCSO Act - FIR and criminal proceedings for offences under Sections 376/506 IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act cannot be quashed on the basis of compromise with the child victim or victim's family, as such offences are heinous sexual offences having serious societal impact and are not private in nature.
Statutory provision(s): Section 482 CrPC, Section 376 IPC, Section 506 IPC, Section 6 POCSO Act, 2012
Anand Singh Rawat v. State, (Delhi) : Law Finder Doc id # 2985247
