Madras High Court
G.Mahesh @ Maheshwaran vs State Represented By on 28 January, 2016
Author: S.Vaidyanathan
Bench: S.Vaidyanathan
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED: 28.01.2016
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE S.VAIDYANATHAN
Crl.O.P.(MD) Nos.24024 of 2015, 24709 and 24775 of 2015
G.Mahesh @ Maheshwaran ... Petitioner/Accused in Crl.O.P.(MD)24024/15
1. A.Baskar
2. A.Kennedy @ Joseph Kennedy
3. M.Jesudoss
4. K.Josphin Mary
5. J.Poulin Santhi
6. Jeyapriya Mary ... Petitioners/A1 to A6 in
Crl.O.P.(MD)24709/15
Prabakaran ... Petitioner/Sole Accused in Crl.O.P.(MD)24775/15
Vs.
1. State Represented by
The District Crime Branch,
Tirunelveli District.
(Crime No.51 of 2009) ... 1st Respondent / Complainant
in Crl.O.P.(MD)24024/15
2. S.Ganeshalingam ... 2nd Respondent / Defacto Complainant
in Crl.O.P.(MD)24024/15
1. State Represented by
The Inspector of Police,
Anti Land Grabbing Special Cell,
Madurai City.
(Crime No.39 of 2012) ... 1st Respondent / Complainant
in Crl.O.P.(MD)24709/15
2. A.Edwin Aldrin ... 2nd Respondent / Defacto Complainant
in Crl.O.P.(MD)24709/15
1. State Represented by
The Inspector of Police,
Othakadai Police Station,
Madurai.
(Crime No.122 of 2013) ... 1st Respondent / Complainant
in Crl.O.P.(MD) 24775 of 2015
2. Chinnasamy ... 2nd Respondent / Defacto Complainant
in Crl.O.P.(MD) 24775 of 2015
Prayer in Crl.O.P.(MD)24024/15: Petition filed under Section 482 of Code of
Criminal Procedure to accept this compromise memo and quash the proceddings
in C.C.No.186 of 2014 on the file of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate
Court, Tirunelveli.
Prayer in Crl.O.P.(MD)24709/15: Petition filed under Section 482 of Code of
Criminal Procedure to call for the records in connection with the impugned
charge sheet in C.C.No.98 of 2013 on the file of the learned Judicial
Magistrate No.1, Madurai and quash the same insofar as the petitioners are
concerned.
Prayer in Crl.O.P.(MD) 24775/15: Petition filed under Section 482 of Code of
Criminal Procedure to call for the records relating to C.C.No.38 of 2013 on
the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate-cum-Munsif, Melur, Madurai
District and quash the same.
!For Petitioners : Mr.V.Balasubramanian
(in Crl.O.P.(MD)24024/15)
Mr.G.Thalaimutharasu
(in Crl.O.P.(MD)24709/15)
Mr.S.Moorthy
(in Crl.O.P.(MD)24775/15)
^For R1 : Mrs.S.Prabha
Govt. Advocate (Crl.Side)
For R2 : Mr.A.Nawaz Khan
(in Crl.O.P.(MD)24024/15)
Mr.K.Sankar
(in Crl.O.P.(MD)24709/15)
Mr.Sukumar
(in Crl.O.P.(MD)24775/15)
:O R D E R
These petitions have been filed, seeking to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.186 of 2014 on the file of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Tirunelveli, C.C.No.98 of 2013 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate No.1, Madurai and C.C.No.38 of 2013 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate-cum-Munsif, Melur, Madurai District respectively, pursuant to the amicable settlement effected between the parties.
2. The details of cases registered against the petitioners are given in the tabular column below:
Sl. No. Case No. C.C.No. Sections of Law
1.
Crl.O.P.(MD)24024/15 C.C.No.186/2014 (CJM, Tirunelveli) 384, 506(ii) IPC and Section 4 of TN Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Ordinance of 2003 (Crime No.51/2009)
2. Crl.O.P.(MD)24709/15 C.C.No.98/2013 (JM-1, Madurai) 418, 419, 420, 447, 468, 471, 506(ii) and 120(b) (Crime No.39/2012)
3. Crl.O.P.(MD)24775/15 C.C.No.38/2013 (JM-cum-Munsif, Melur, Madurai District 380 IPC (Crime No.122/2013)
3. When these matters are taken up for hearing, the counsel for the petitioners/Accused have submitted that the accused persons and the defacto complainants have decided to settle their issues amicably among themselves. However, on perusal of the FIRs registered against the petitioners, it is seen that cases have been registered for various offences, out of which, some of the offences are non compoundable and few of them are registered under the provisions of Special Statutes. Therefore, this Court has expressed its unwillingness to accept the respective compromise memos.
4. At this juncture, the counsel for the petitioners sought permission of this Court to put forth their contention on merits irrespective of the compromise memo. The counsel for the petitioners has submitted that once the parties have entered into a compromise, then the power of this Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. is of wide amplitude and the same can be invoked, if such quashing would meet the ends of justice. In the midst of their arguments, the counsel for the petitioners has specifically drawn the attention of this Court to the specific language used in Section 482 Cr.P.C., to the effect that ?....to prevent abuse of the process of any Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice.? Therefore, it is contended that the saving of the High Court's inherent powers is designed to achieve a salutary public purpose to the extent that a Court proceeding ought not to be permitted to degenerate into a weapon of harassment or persecution.
5. On the contrary, the Government Advocate (Crl.Side) would, by relying on a judgment of this Court in V.Sekar vs. State by Inspector of Police, Central Crime Branch,Chennai Sub-Urban Police and another, reported in (2012) 2 CTC 593, submit that a declaration of law holding that a non- compoundable offence can be compounded on the ground that the parties have compromised among themselves will amount to creating a new provision in the Code, which is exclusively for the legislature to do. Such legislation cannot be made by a Judge made law. Therefore, he would further submit that this Court should restrain itself from quashing the proceedings on the ground of compromise reached between the parties in respect of non-compoundable offences.
6. When such a situation arose in similarly placed matters in Crl.O.P.(MD) Nos.406, 530 and 864 of 2016 (Prabu and others vs. State Rep. By The Inspector of Police and others), decided on 28.01.2016, this Court considered the various decisions rendered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in this regard in several cases, namely, Gian Singh vs. State of Punjab and another [(2012) 10 SCC 303], B.S.Joshi vs. State of Haryana [(2003) 4 SCC 675], Nikhil Merchant vs. CBI [(2008) 9 SCC 677], Narinder Singh and others vs. State of Punjab and another [(2014) 6 SCC 466] and State of Madhya Pradesh vs. Manish and others [(2015) 8 SCC 307] and observed as under:
?11. If the offences against women and children and the IPC offences falling under the categories, like, murder, attempt to murder, offence against unsound mind, rape, bribe, fabrication of documents, false evidence, robbery, dacoity, abduction, kidnapping, minor girl rape, idol theft, preventing a public servant from discharging of his/her duty, outrage of woman modesty, counterfeiting currency notes or bank notes, etc., are allowed to be compounded, it will surely have serious repercussion on the society, as the above mentioned list is only illustrative and not exhaustive. Similarly, any compromise between the victim and the offender in relation to the offences clubbed with Special Enactment, like Arms Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act, TNPPDL Act, TNPID Act or the offences committed by Public Servants while working in that capacity, etc., cannot provide for any basis for quashing criminal proceedings involving such offences......
........This Court feels that there cannot be any compromise in respect of the heinous and serious offences of mental depravity and in that case, the Court should be very slow in accepting the compromise. If the compromise is entertained mechanically by the Court, the accused will have the upper hand. The jurisdiction of this Court may not be allowed to be exploited by the accused, who can well afford to wait for a logical conclusion. The antecedents of the accused have also to be taken into consideration before accepting the memo of compromise and the accused, by means of compromise, cannot try to escape from the clutches of law.?
7. In view of the various rulings of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, referred to supra and the observations made therefrom, this Court is not inclined to accept the compromise entered into between the parties, as the cases have been registered for serious offences including the one for theft of idols kept for worship and Special Statute.
Accordingly, while declining the request to quash the proceedings on the basis of the compromise, all these petitions are dismissed even on merits also. This Court directs the concerned Trial Courts to conduct cases on a day-to-day basis and shall not adjourn the matters beyond three working days at any point of time. The accused shall appear before the Trial Court on all hearings to enable the Trial Court to bring up the issue to a logical end, at the earliest point of time. No costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is closed.
To
1. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Tirunelveli.
2. The Judicial Magistrate No.1, Madurai.
3. The Judicial Magistrate-cum-Munsif, Melur, Madurai District.
4. The District Crime Branch, Tirunelveli District.
5. The Inspector of Police, Anti Land Grabbing Special Cell, Madurai City.
6. The Inspector of Police, Othakadai Police Station, Madurai.
7. The Additional Public Prosecutor, Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, Madurai.
.