SC overturns Rajasthan HC ruling over dismissing a sexual harassment case on 'compromise' grounds

In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court of India has overturned a decision made by the Rajasthan High Court to quash a sexual harassment case based on a compromise between the accused and the survivor. The ruling came as part of the case identified as Ramji Lal Bairwa and anr vs State of Rajasthan, as reported by the Bar and Bench.

A two-judge bench consisting of Justices CT Ravikumar and PV Sanjay Kumar issued the verdict on Thursday, stating, "The impugned order is quashed and set aside. FIR and criminal proceedings shall proceed in accordance with law. We have not commented on the merits of the matter." The Court also expressed gratitude to Amicus Curiae R Basant for his contributions during the proceedings.

The Background

The case dates back to October 2023, when the Supreme Court grappled with the legal question of whether a High Court could invoke its powers under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to dismiss a sexual harassment allegation following a compromise between the parties involved. This issue surfaced after a complaint was filed by the father of a 15-year-old girl who alleged harassment, resulting in a first information report (FIR).

Following the filing of the FIR, a compromise was negotiated between the girl’s family and the accused, leading the accused to seek the Rajasthan High Court’s intervention to dismiss the case. The High Court initially granted this request, effectively quashing the criminal proceedings against the accused.

The Supreme Court's intervention came after an unrelated third party, Ramji Lal Bairwa, challenged the High Court's order, arguing that such a dismissal was inappropriate. While the top court initially noted that an unaffected party could not file a plea, it later decided to take up the case and invited both the accused and the survivor’s father to participate in the proceedings.

In a prior order issued in September 2022, a Bench led by then Chief Justice UU Lalit appointed Amicus Curiae R Basant to assist the Court in navigating this complex case. Advocate Aviral Saxena and Manu Krishnan also supported the Amicus during the proceedings.