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Bipin Kumar & Ors. v. The State of Bihar & Anr.

Criminal Appeal · 2018 INSC 698Decided 13 Aug 2018
Criminal Appeal No. 993 of 2018
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul

Background

The appellants, who are relatives of the complainant, were convicted by a Sessions Court in Banka, Bihar, under Sections 323, 325 and 341 (read with 34) of the Indian Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt and wrongful restraint, and were sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment. The High Court upheld the conviction and sentence, following which the appellants approached the Supreme Court. During the appeal, the complainant filed an affidavit stating that the family dispute had been resolved amicably through the intervention of family elders.

Decision Breakdown

Since the parties were relatives and had genuinely reconciled, both sides jointly requested that the offences be compounded (i.e., settled and withdrawn by mutual agreement), and the State of Bihar raised no objection, noting it was essentially a family dispute. The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal and, in the interest of restoring peace within the family, allowed the offences to be compounded. The appeal was accordingly disposed of on that basis, with all pending applications also disposed of.

Lesson Learnt

Certain criminal offences, particularly less serious ones arising from family or personal disputes, can be resolved through compounding (a court-sanctioned settlement between the parties) even at the Supreme Court stage, allowing family relationships to be restored instead of pursuing punishment to its end.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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