Bengaluru IAF officer road-rage incident: Karnataka High Court quashes case after parties settle dispute

The High Court of Karnataka has quashed criminal proceedings related to a road rage incident involving IAF officer Wing Commander Shiladitya Bose, his wife Madhumita Dutta, and SJ Vikas Kumar, a call centre employee.

Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum gave the ruling after the parties showed their willingness to give a quietus to the dispute.

The case pertains to an incident of road rage that occurred on the morning of April 21 near Gopalan Grand Mall, off Old Madras Road, in eastern Bengaluru.

The incident came to light after the wing commander uploaded a video claiming that he was attacked by Kumar. While the police arrested Kumar, investigations conducted with the help of CCTV footage revealed that it was Bose who had attacked Kumar. After his release on bail, Kumar filed a counter-complaint against Bose for attempted murder and other offences.

The case attracted considerable attention and sparked a debate on the relations between locals and migrants in Bengaluru, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah commenting on the matter.

Bose and Kumar moved the high court challenging the proceedings.

At the hearing, Kumar acknowledged that the incident arose out of road rage, resulting only in verbal exchanges. He categorically stated that except for the verbal altercation, neither did any physical assault take place nor did he suffer any injury and that he is inclined to put an end to the dispute.

On the other side, Madhumita, the complainant in the case against Kumar, also said that it was only a verbal altercation. It was further stated that the matter has been amicably resolved with the intervention of well-wishers and that she has decided to withdraw all allegations made in her complaint.

The court perused the affidavits filed by the parties in both petitions.

It noted that in one of the cases, an offence of attempted murder is invoked (Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), which is a non-compoundable offence. However, the voluntary statement of the complainant that he sustained no injuries and his willingness to resolve the dispute persuaded it to exercise the inherent jurisdiction.

"This court has also kept in mind the fact that one of the accused is a serving Air Force officer, who would otherwise be compelled to face criminal proceedings for the aforesaid offences despite the matter being trivial and settled. With regard to the statements of the complainants, the voluntary withdrawal of allegations, and the absence of any injury, this court is satisfied that both petitions deserve to be allowed," Justice Magadum said.

"It is made clear that both parties are strictly warned not to indulge in such incidents in the future."