Justice A Badharudeen said that even though the High Court is empowered to exercise its jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to quash proceedings even in non-compoundable cases such as rape, it ought to consider whether the offence is heinous or has an impact over the society.
“In cases of serious nature which affects the society at large, this Court should not exercise its jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC for quashing the proceedings on the basis of compromise executed between the parties,” the Court made it clear.
In this case, the Court opined that the prosecution allegations against the priest, Father Babu Varghese, were prima facie well made out.
Therefore, it deemed it improper to quash the proceedings against him merely because the matter had been settled with the survivor.
Source: Barandbench
