Complainants, accused persons in rape cases cannot reach out-of-court settlements: Kerala HC
The bench noted that any such agreement between the two parties would be void under the Indian Contract Act for being ‘opposed to public policy’.
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Complainants and accused persons in rape cases cannot reach out-of-court settlements, the Kerala High Court has ruled, reported Bar and Bench on Saturday.
An agreement between the parties to this effect would be void under the Indian Contract Act for being “opposed to public policy” the court said in a judgement on August 12.
The bench of Justice A Badharudeen said this while refusing to quash a rape case because the complainant and the accused person had agreed to settle the matter between them.
“…it is well settled law that any agreement or contract would be void for the reason that if its consideration is opposed to public policy,” the court said. “In the same manner, contract or agreement for withdrawing from prosecution is nothing but stifling the prosecution involving public offence and the same also is opposed to public policy.”
The complainant, who was an employee of a grama panchayath office in the state’s Thrissur district, was allegedly raped in March 2016 by a man named Abdul Jaleel, the assistant secretary of the grama panchayath.
At the time of the alleged incident, the woman had been separated from her husband for 23 years.
She had earlier complained to the secretary of the grama panchayath about Jaleel’s behaviour toward her, which involved disrupting her work...
