Punjab and Haryana HC acquits Punjab AAP MLA, seven others in 2013 molestation case

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted AAP MLA Manjinder Singh Lalpura and seven others in a 2013 molestation and assault case following a compromise between the two parties.

Allowing the petition, the bench of Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya set aside the judgement of a court in Punjab's Tarn Taran, convicting and sentencing the MLA and seven others to four years of imprisonment in last September.

The bench also quashed the FIR registered in March 2013 at the Tarn Taran police station under different sections of the IPC along with the provisions of the SC/ST Act.

The complainant woman, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, had alleged that she was assaulted by the accused, including Lalpura and some police personnel from Tarn Taran on March 3, 2013.

The incident took place when the complainant along with her family members visited Tarn Taran for a wedding function. At that time, Lalpura was a taxi driver.

In its order on Monday, the court acquitted all the eight persons, including the MLA from Khadoor Sahib assembly seat, of all charges for all intents and purposes.

The court noted that the petitioners have no criminal antecedents.

"The offences alleged are not heinous in nature and cannot be termed as crime against the society; nor do they show mental depravity of the petitioners. Besides, the incident is about 13 years old and nothing untoward has happened between the parties thereafter," the court said.

"Since disputes between the parties have been amicably resolved by way of the compromise, decision on the pending appeals against conviction on merits will hamper their peaceful co-existence even after resolution of disputes," the court observed.

The petitioners and the complainant reached a compromise on February 4.

A March 25 report of the Tarn Taran Chief Judicial Magistrate stated that the compromise arrived at between the parties was without any pressure, coercion or undue influence.

It also said there is no criminal case pending against the petitioners, nor have they been declared proclaimed person.

The State counsel and the respondent's counsel accepted the compromise and submitted that they have no objection to quashing the judgment of conviction and order of sentence and the FIR.

The high court relied on the Supreme Court verdict in the 2012 case of Gian Singh vs State of Punjab and other cases, in which it was held that criminal cases having overwhelmingly civil character, particularly those arising out of commercial transactions or matrimonial relationships or family disputes, should be quashed when the parties have resolved their disputes among themselves in a bona fide manner by entering into a compromise.

The court also took note of the 2012 SC verdict in Shiji alias Pappu and others vs Radhika and another case wherein criminal proceedings for offences under Sections 354 and 394 IPC were quashed since the parties had entered into a compromise and there were no chances of conviction.

Also, even if criminal proceedings have resulted in conviction in cases of non-compoundable offences and thereafter a compromise has been affected between the parties, the judgment of conviction can be set aside by the court in exercise of its inherent powers to secure the ends of justice, according to the 2022 SC judgement in Ramgopal and another vs State of Madhya Pradesh.

"A perusal of the allegations in the FIR as well as the aforesaid report establishes that the present case is of predominantly private nature and falls in the category of cases that can be quashed by the high court in exercise of its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC, as per law laid down in the aforementioned judgments," the HC order stated.