SUNIL Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is the sole accused in Crime No. 734/2013 of Kilikolloor Police Station and now pending as C.P. No. 79/2013 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court -I, Kollam. The 2nd respondent is the de facto complainant. The offence alleged against the petitioner, who is now aged 25 years, is that the accused had abducted the de facto complainant, who was then a minor, from the lawful custody of her parents and that they had resided various places. The final report is filed in this case and the case is now pending as C.P. No. 79/2013 before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court -I, Kollam. It is the case of the petitioner that there was a love affair between the petitioner and the 2nd respondent and that the relatives of the girl were against this, and so they had interfered and the de facto complainant was constrained to lodge the complaint. Later, the 2nd respondent had attained the age of majority and the marriage between the petitioner, who is now aged 25 years, and the 2nd respondent, who is now aged 18 years, was solemnized at Ayathil Jama -Ath, Kollam, on 10.8.2014 and thereafter the petitioner and the 2nd respondent are living together as husband and wife and that any further continuation of the impugned criminal proceedings would only result in more damage to the 2nd respondent - de facto complainant in ways more than one. That the 2nd respondent has sworn to an affidavit as per Annexure 2 stating that she has no further complaint against the petitioner and that she was in love with the petitioner for several years and that as their parents were against this relationship and that as she was a minor, complaint had to be given as required by her parents and that immediately on her attaining majority, the marriage between the petitioner and the 2nd respondent has solemnized as stated above in the presence of the parents and relatives of both parties and thereafter, she is living together with the petitioner in a lawfully wedded relationship and that any continuance of the criminal proceedings would adversely affect her future life and that she has resolved to terminate all the legal proceedings against the petitioner and that she has no objection in quashing the final report in crime No. 734/2013 of Kilikolloor Police Station and the proceedings in C.P. No. 79/2013 pending before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Kollam and that this Court may be pleased to quash the final report in the aforementioned crime, which has led to C.P. No. 79/2013 pending before the aforementioned court etc. It is in the background of these facts and circumstances that the aforementioned Crl. M.C. has been filed praying to quash the final report in Crime No. 734/2013 of Kilikolloor Police Station and all further proceedings in C.P. No. 79/2014 pending before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court -I, Kollam.

(2.) THE Crl. M.C. has been admitted and Smt. Aswathi Babu has taken notice for the 2nd respondent and the learned Public Prosecutor has taken notice for the 1st respondent -State of Kerala.

(3.) THE learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that during the pendency of the aforementioned criminal proceedings, the matter has been settled amicably between the parties, which is resulted in the subject matter of the aforementioned crime/case and that the continuation of the proceedings in the above case/crime will cause miscarriage of justice to both parties as the real disputants to the case have arrived at an amicable settlement and any further continuation of the criminal proceedings will amount to sheer wastage of time and money and would unnecessarily strain the financial, administrative and financial resources of the State.