Sexual harassment cases cannot be quashed even if they are accused. Survivors recover: Supreme Court

The judgment, which was reserved way back in October 2023, came in a case dealing with the question whether a High Court, in exercise of its powers under Section 482 CrPC, can quash a sexual harassment case on the basis of a compromise between the suspect and the survivor.

The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the decision of the Rajasthan High Court to quash a sexual harassment case based on a compromise between the accused and the survivor.

Delivering the judgment, a bench of Justices CT Ravikumar and PV Sanjay Kumar said, “The impugned order is quashed and set aside, FIR and criminal proceedings continue in accordance with law”.

The much-awaited judgment relates to whether a High Court, under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), can quash a sexual harassment case if a compromise is reached between the accused and the survivor. This legal question arose from an appeal in a case involving the harassment of a 15-year-old girl, which was initially filed following a complaint from the girl’s father.

After a compromise was reached between the accused and the girl’s family, the accused sought the intervention of the Rajasthan High Court to have the case quashed. The court has reserved a decision on the case for October 2023, and the ruling will now turn to whether such cases, involving child survivors and serious crimes, can be dismissed on a mutual settlement basis.

The Supreme Court accepted the plea and quashed the criminal case. The present petition was filed in the apex court by an unaffected third party, Ramji Lal Bairwa, challenging the High Court order.