The Punjab and Haryana high court has refused to accept a compromise between a married woman and a person whom she had accused of raping her.
The bench of Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj observed that the petitioner is alleged to have committed a heinous offence and he established physical relations with the woman forcefully by blackmailing her. “The allegations levelled in the FIR amount to cognisable offence and truth can be unravelled only after leading the evidence in a trial court. Interference by the high court on the basis of alleged compromise is not called for,” the bench said.
The FIR in the case was registered in July 2019 in Faridabad. The petitioner had approached the high court in July with a compromise deed between him and the woman that was effected the same month.
It was alleged that the woman (28) became familiar with the accused and thereafter in due course of time taking benefit of the relations, he developed physical relations with her forcefully.
He started forcing the woman and established physical relations repeatedly.
On resistance she was threatened that he would upload her photos on Facebook and kill her husband, she had alleged adding that having no other alternative, at one point of time, she disclosed the same to her husband, who got the FIR registered.
The accused had claimed that both the parties have amicably settled the dispute and they have arrived at a compromise and in view of this, carrying on with his prosecution would be an abuse of the process of the court and thus, the same deserves to be quashed.
{{/usCountry}}The accused had claimed that both the parties have amicably settled the dispute and they have arrived at a compromise and in view of this, carrying on with his prosecution would be an abuse of the process of the court and thus, the same deserves to be quashed.
{{/usCountry}}The police had opposed the plea stating that the offence involved is heinous and on completion of investigation the challan already stands submitted before the trial court and further the compromise alleged has no legal sanctity.
The court took note of SC observations that in case of heinous offences, the compromise arrived would be meaningless. It also took note of the fact that allegations against him were of forcefully establishing physical relations repeatedly by blackmailing her of posting her photos on Facebook and killing her husband.