SANJAY SHARMA AND 2 OTHERSversusSTATE OF U.P. AND ANOTHER

         HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
                   CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 8276 of 2025

Sanjay Sharma And 2 Others
                                                             .....Appellant(s)
                                   Versus

State of U.P. and Another
                                                           .....Respondent(s)

Counsel for Appellant(s)                    :   Nigamendra Shukla
Counsel for Respondent(s)                   :   Ramesh Chandra, G.A.

Court No. - 51
                   HON'BLE MADAN PAL SINGH, J.

1. Heard Sri Nigamendra Shukla, learned counsel for the appellant on the
mention slip, learned AGA for the State and perused. None appears on
behalf of the opposite party no.2.

2. This criminal appeal under Section 14-A(1) of The Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has been preferred to
allow the appeal and quash entire proceedings as well as impugned
cognizance/summoning order dated 12-01-2023 passed in Complaint No. 11
of 2022, under Sections 323, 504, 506, 354A IPC and 3(2)(va) of SC/ST
Act, P.S. Babugarh, district Hapur.

3. The parties before this Court have made a request that they have entered
into a compromise in this matter and have settled all the disputes between
them and now they do not want to proceed with this matter. It is further
submitted that in compliance of the order of this Court dated 15-09-2025,
the compromise deed submitted by the parties has been verified by the
concerned Special Judge, (SC/ST Act), Further record discloses that
verification report dated 28-10-2025 has also been received, which is on
record.

4. Learned counsel for the appellant has submitted before this Court that the
compromise entered into between the parties has been made without any
coercion or undue influence upon the informant of this case and is a result of
free will and consent of the parties.

5. It appears from perusal of the record that the present case is having a
nature of purely private dispute and prima facie it also appears that the
alleged offence has not been committed on account of the caste of the
informant and except some offence under SC/ST Act, minor offences have
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been levelled against the accused. Further, the compromise between the
parties is the result of free will and consent of the informant-opposite party
no. 2 without any undue influence.

6. The question as to whether a compromise can be verified and accepted in
a case relating to an offence under SC/ST Act has been answered by the
Supreme Court in the case of Ramawatar Vs. State of M.P. (2022) 13 SCC
635. Paragraph no. 17 of the said judgment is quoted herein below:-

     "17. On the other hand, where it appears to the Court that the
     offence in question, although covered under the SC/ST Act, is
     primarily private or civil in nature, or where the alleged offence
     has not been committed on account of the caste of the victim, or
     where the continuation of the legal proceedings would be an
     abuse of the process of law, the Court can exercise its powers to
     quash the proceedings. On similar lines, when considering a
     prayer for quashing on the basis of a compromise/settlement, if
     the Court is satisfied that the underlying objective of the Act
     would not be contravened or diminished even if the felony in
     question goes unpunished, the mere fact that the offence is
     covered under a "special statute" would not refrain this Court or
     the High Court, from exercising their respective powers under
     Article 142 of the Constitution or Section 482 Cr.P.C."

7. It has been further held in paragraph no. 19 of the said judgment, which is
quoted herein under:-

     "19. We may hasten to add that in cases such as the present, the
     Courts ought to be even more vigilant to ensure that the
     complainant-victim has entered into the compromise on the
     volition of his/her free will and not on account of any duress. It
     cannot be understated that since members of the Scheduled Caste
     and Scheduled Tribe belong to the weaker sections of our
     country, they are more prone to acts of coercion, and therefore
     ought to be accorded a higher level of protection. If the Courts
     find even a hint of compulsion or force, no relief can be given to
     the accused party. What factors the Courts should consider,
     would depend on the facts and circumstances of each case".

8. A perusal of the Full Bench judgment in the case of Ghulam Rasool
Khan And Others vs State Of U.P And Another, 2022 (8) ADJ 691
reveals that a matter under the SC/ST Act may be compounded in a criminal
appeal under section 14-A(1) of SC/ST Act and there is no need to take
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                                    recourse of U/s. 482 Cr.P.C. for the same.

                                    9. In view of the aforesaid, this Court finds that since the parties have
                                    entered into compromise which has already been verified by the trial court,
                                    the entire proceedings of criminal case emanating from the
                                    impugned cognizance/summoning order dated 12-01-2023 passed in
                                    Complaint No. 11 of 2022, under Sections 323, 504, 506, 354A IPC and
                                    3(2)(va) of SC/ST Act, P.S. Babugarh, district Hapur are hereby quashed
                                    and the present criminal appeal is allowed in terms of compromise entered
                                    into between both the parties.



                                                                                        (Madan Pal Singh,J.)
                                    May 6, 2026
                                    pks




Digitally signed by :-
PANKAJ KUMAR SRIVASTAVA
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad