NARESH KUMAR Vs. BABLESH RANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Criminal Revision arises out of a judgment dated 4.6.2001 in Crl. Appeal No. 130 of 2000 passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Sangrur affirming the judgment and order of conviction recorded by learned Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Sunam in complaint case No. 17 of 1998 under Sections 406 and 498-A IPC. Resultantly, the accused-petitioner has been sentenced to RI for one year with a fine of Rs. 1,000/- and in default thereof, to further undergo RI for two months on both the counts individually. However, during pendency of this revision, the complainant-wife has filed an affidavit with Cr.M. No. 24312 of 2003 stating therein that the parties have settled the disputes and now they are living peacefully together. The relevant portion of the affidavit, on reproduction, reads as under :

(2.) THE parties were also present in person on the last date of hearing i.e. 13.5.2005 and reiterated the above statement on affidavit. Learned counsel appearing for the complainant-wife, who has sought quashment of conviction and sentence of her husband also referred to judgments of the High Courts so also of Hon'ble the Apex Court in support of his contention that it would be in the interest of justice that, once the parties have arrived at a settlement and have started living peacefully, conviction and sentence in a matrimonial matter should be quashed. Learned counsel also referred to a judgment of the Rajasthan High Court reported in 2003(1) RCR(Crl.) 275 (Sampati v. State of Rajasthan), wherein offence under Section 406 IPC being compoundable in nature was permitted to be compounded since the parties had compromised the matter and settled the disputes. Learned counsel further referred to the judgments of this Court in respect of offences under Sections 324, 326 and 307 IPC and argued that even in cases of non-compoundable offences, this Court, in the interest of justice, has permitted the parties to compound the offences and consequently quashed the proceedings. That apart, Hon'ble the Apex Court has rendered a leading judgment on this point reported in 2003(2) RCR(Crl.) 888 (SC) (B.S. Joshi v. State of Haryana, holding that the High Court can quash the proceedings under Section 498-A IPC if the parties have settled the dispute. Para 14 of the judgment being relevant for this case, on reproduction, reads as under :-