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Anand Singh Rawat vs. The State and Another & Anr.

Criminal Miscellaneous Case · 2026:DHC:8211Decided 22 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
CRL.M.C. 2042/2026CNR: DLHC010103772026
Justice Sachin Datta

Background

The 49-year-old petitioner sought quashing of an FIR alleging aggravated penetrative sexual assault on a child (offences under Sections 376/506 IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act), on the ground that he had reached a compromise with the victim's family. The trial in the underlying case was ongoing, at the stage of prosecution evidence.

Decision Breakdown

The Court dismissed the petition, relying on the Supreme Court's ruling in Gian Singh v. State of Punjab, which holds that heinous offences of mental depravity, including sexual offences against children, cannot be quashed merely because the victim's family has settled with the accused: such offences are not private in nature and have a serious impact on society. The Court held that a child victim or her family cannot compromise a POCSO offence, and doing so here would defeat both the statute's purpose and the ends of justice. The petition was dismissed, with the trial to continue on the merits before the Trial Court.

Lesson Learnt

A "settlement" with a victim's family cannot be used to quash serious sexual offence cases, particularly those involving children under the POCSO Act: courts treat these as offences against society at large, not private disputes that parties can resolve on their own terms.

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