"Parties Are Happily Married; FIR Lodged Due To Miscommunication" : Supreme Court Quashes Rape Case

The Supreme Court quashed a rape case accepting joint request of the accused and the complainant who stated that they are happily married.

All steps taken on the basis of impugned FIR be treated as effaced from the record in law, the bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari observed while allowing the writ petition filed by the accused.

In this case, the FIR was lodged by complainant alleging that the accused had promised her that he will marry her, which promise was not kept. Later they resolved their differences and eventually got married on 11.10.2014. The Delhi High Court, before which, the accused moved a petition for quashing FIR, observed that settlement in cases where nature of offence is heinous/serious like murder, rape and dacoity, the criminal proceedings cannot be quashed even if there are settled by the accused and the victim, by invoking the jurisdiction of High Court under Section 482 CrPC. 

"Rape not only causes serious injury to a woman's body, her honour and dignity and even if such an offence is settled by the offender and victim, this offence being not private in nature but has serious impact on the society and, therefore, cannot be quashed.", the High Court had observed.

Before the Apex Court, both the accused and complainant stated that they are enjoying happy married life. Therefore, they made a joint request  that the FIR be quashed as it was the outcome of some misunderstanding between them. They contended that consensual intercourse on the false promise of marriage amounting to rape is an offence against an individual and the dispute arising therefrom is personal in nature as opposed to forceful rape committed against the will and without the consent of the victim which is an offence against the society and not an individual.

"Considering the nature of allegations in the FIR and the realization of the fact that due to miscommunication FIR came to be registered at the relevant point of time which issues/misunderstanding have now been fully resolved and the parties are happily married since 11.10.2014, the basis of FIR does not survive. Rather registering such FIR was an ill-advised move on the part of the private respondent, is the stand now taken before us. It is seen that the appellant and private respondent are literate and well-informed persons and have jointly opted for quashing of the stated FIR. Taking overall view of the matter, therefore, in the interest of justice, we accede to the joint request of quashing of FIR in the peculiar facts of the present case... The Writ Petition filed by the appellant for quashing is allowed, as a result of which, all steps taken on the basis of impugned FIR be treated as effaced from the record in law", the bench said while allowing the appeal.

Case: Mr. A vs. State

Coram: Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari

Counsel: Sr. Adv. Siddhartha Dave, Advocates Nishaank Mattoo, Abhishek Bharti, Shivika Singh, AOR Balaji Srinivasan, Sr. Adv. Meenakshi Arora 

 

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