(1.) The petitioners herein are accused Nos.1, 3 4 and 5 in the impugned Crime No.2553/2017 of Nedumangad Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram District, which has been registered for offences punishable under Secs.294(b), 354D, and 34 of the I.P.C and Sections 11(1) (iv) and 12 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 on the basis of a complaint filed by the 3 rd respondent/defacto complainant and which has led to the institution of Anx-A2 Final Report in S.T.No.57/2019 on the file of the Juvenile Court, Thiruvananthapuram. It is stated that now the entire disputes between the petitioners and the 3rd respondent/defacto complainant have been settled amicably and that the respondents 3 to 7 have sworn to Anxs-A2 to A6 affidavits before this Court, wherein it is stated that they have settled the entire disputes with the petitioners and that they have no objection for quashment of the impugned criminal proceedings pending against the petitioners. It is in the light of these aspects that the petitioners have preferred the instant Crl.M.C. with the prayer to quash the impugned criminal proceedings against them.
(2.) In a catena of decisions, the Apex Court has held that, in appropriate cases involving even non-compoundable offences, the High Court can quash prosecution by exercise of the powers under Sec.482 of the Cr.P.C ., if the parties have really settled the whole dispute or if the continuance of the prosecution will not serve any purpose. Here, this Court finds a real case of settlement between the parties and it is also found that continuance of the prosecution in such a situation will not serve any purpose other than wasting the precious time of the court, when the case ultimately comes before the court. On a perusal of the petition and on a close scrutiny of the investigation materials on record and the affidavits of settlement and taking into account the attendant facts and circumstances of this case, this Court is of the considered opinion that the legal principles laid down by the Apex Court in the cases as in Gian Singh v. State of Punjab reported in 2013 (1) SCC (Cri) 160 = (2012) 10 SCC 303 and Narinder Singh and others v. State of Punjab and anr. reported in (2014) 6 SCC 466, more particularly paragraph 29 thereof, could be applied in this case to consider the prayer for quashment.
(3.) Accordingly, it is ordered in the interest of justice that the impugned Crime No.2553/2017 of Nedumangadu Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram District, which has led to the institution of Anx-A1 Final Report in S.T.No.57/2019 on the file of the Juvenile Court, Thiruvananthapuram and all further proceedings arising therefrom pending against the accused will stand quashed.