Supreme Court Overturns High Court Ruling to Dismiss Sexual Harassment Case Due to Compromise

A Bench of Justices CT Ravikumar and PV Sanjay Kumar delivered the verdict.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court overturned the Rajasthan High Court’s decision to use its powers under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to dismiss a sexual harassment case, citing a compromise between the accused and the survivor (Ramji Lal Bairwa and anr vs State of Rajasthan and anr).

The verdict was delivered by a Bench of Justices CT Ravikumar and PV Sanjay Kumar.

“The impugned order is quashed and set aside, FIR and criminal proceedings be proceeded with in accordance with law. We have not commented on the merits of the matter,” the Court said.

The Court also expressed its gratitude to Amicus Curiae R Basant for his assistance.
The verdict, which was reserved in October 2023, addressed the issue of whether a High Court, exercising its powers under Section 482 CrPC, can dismiss a sexual harassment case due to a compromise between the accused and the survivor.

The matter stemmed from an appeal in a case involving the harassment of a 15-year-old girl, which resulted in the filing of a first information report based on her father’s complaint.

A compromise was later reached between the girl’s family and the accused, based on which the accused approached the Rajasthan High Court to have the case quashed.

The High Court granted the plea and dismissed the criminal case.

A third party, Ramji Lal Bairwa, who was unaffected by the case, then filed the present petition before the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court’s order.

Initially, the top court remarked that an unaffected party cannot file a plea in a criminal case.

However, it ultimately decided to examine the issue and ordered that both the accused and the survivor’s father be made parties to the case.

In a September 2022 order, a Bench led by then Chief Justice of India UU Lalit and Justice JB Pardiwala appointed Senior Advocate and former Kerala High Court judge R Basant as Amicus Curiae to assist the Court in the matter.

The verdict was ultimately delivered today, with the Amicus being assisted by Advocates Aviral Saxena and Manu Krishnan.