 "(File) Supreme Court of India. PTI")
Supreme Court on Thursday set aside Rajasthan High Court’s decision to quash a sexual harassment case based on compromise between the accused and the survivor.
A Bench of Justices CT Ravikumar and PV Sanjay Kumar delivered the verdict and said, “The impugned order is quashed and set aside, FIR and criminal proceedings be proceeded with in accordance with law".
The long-awaited verdict pertains to whether a High Court, under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), can quash a sexual harassment case if a compromise is reached between the accused and the survivor. This legal question arose from an appeal in a case involving the harassment of a 15-year-old girl, which was initially filed following a complaint by the girl’s father.
After a compromise was reached between the accused and the girl’s family, the accused sought the Rajasthan High Court’s intervention to have the case quashed. The court reserved its decision on the matter in October 2023, and the ruling now addresses whether such cases, involving minor survivors and serious offenses, can be dismissed based on mutual settlement.
The High Court accepted the plea and quashed the criminal case. The present petition was filed before the apex court by an unaffected third party, Ramji Lal Bairwa, objecting to the High Court order.