Compromise Cannot Quash FIR In Serious Firearm Offences, Madhya Pradesh High Court Rules In Gwalior

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): High Court at Gwalior has held that a compromise between the parties cannot justify quashing an FIR where the allegations involve firing and an attempt on the life of the injured.

High Court at Gwalior has refused to quash an FIR arising out of a shootout in which a woman labourer was hit by a bullet, holding that a compromise between the parties cannot, by itself, justify the exercise of inherent powers when the allegations point to a serious offence involving a firearm.

Justice Rajesh Kumar Gupta recently dismissed a petition filed by Santosh Gurjar and another suspect under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) (Section 482 of CrPC).

As per the HC order, in the present case, the prosecution allegations, at this stage, disclose that the petitioners allegedly used a firearm and fired shots at the injured with the intention of causing death.

The nature and manner of the alleged occurrence, therefore, cannot be said to have an overwhelmingly civil or private character. The petitioners had sought quashing of FIR registered at police station Sirol, district Gwalior, under Sections 308, 294 and 34 of IPC.

According to the prosecution, on Sept 15, 2023, the complainant was working as a labourer with her family members at a plot in Pawan Sut Colony, Sirole, when suspects Bharat Gurjar, Ram Lakhan Gurjar and Santosh Gurjar, standing on opposite sides of the road, allegedly began abusing each other and firing gunshots. Four other persons later arrived and also started firing.

One bullet allegedly pierced the complainant's saree and hit her below the navel, causing bleeding. Her husband and sister-in-law took her to the district hospital, Morena, Gwalior, where her 'Dehati Nalishi' was recorded, leading to registration of the case.

Acknowledging the compromise, the court held that it cannot, by itself, be a ground for invoking inherent jurisdiction under Section 528 BNSS where the allegations disclose a serious offence having an impact on society at large.