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NON-REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA       CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

      CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 487/2018            (Arising out of S.L.P.(Criminal) No.8442/2017)

 BITAN SENGUPTA & ANR.                        APPELLANT(s)                                 VERSUS

THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL & ANR.             RESPONDENT(s)

O R D E R

Leave granted.  2. Heard learned counsel for the parties.  3. The present Special Leave Petition has been preferred against  the  impugned  judgment/final  order  dated 12.09.2017  passed  by  the  High  Court  of  Kolkata  in Criminal Revision Petition No.3400/2016.

4. It may be stated at the outset that on a written complaint from respondent no. 2 herein, Case No. 554 PS Durgapur was registered under Sections 498A, 406, 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and Sections 3 & 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act,1961 against the appellants. In

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the  aforesaid  complaint,  the  allegations  against  the appellants are that they demanded dowry from respondent no.2 and on non-fulfillment of demand,  respondent no. 2 was assaulted and tortured by them. After completion of the  investigation,  chargesheet  was  filed  in  the  Court against  the  appellants  for  the  aforesaid  offences  and charges were framed. The learned Judicial Magistrate vide order dated 27.06.2014 found the appellants guilty of the offence  under  Section  498A  of  the  IPC  and  directed appellant  no.1  to  undergo  rigorous  imprisonment  for  1 year  and simple imprisonment for 6 months to appellant no.2  and  acquitted  them  for  the  other  offences.  Being aggrieved,  the  appellants  filed  appeal  before  the Sessions  Court  which  was  dismissed  vide  order  dated 21.09.2016.  

5. It is worthy to mention that during the pendency of the appeal before the Sessions Court,  the appellants and respondent no. 2 arrived at a compromise  and accordingly Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MOU)dated  22.12.2015  was executed  on  the  basis  of  which  mutual  divorce  under Section 28 of the Special Marriage Act was granted by the Additional  District  Judge,  Durgapur  in  Mat.  Suit  No. 389/2015 on 04.04.2016.

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6. The dismissal of the appeal was challenged by filing revision  application  before  the  High  Court.  The  High Court vide impugned order dated 12.09.2017 concurred with the  findings  of  the  Sessions  Court  and  dismissed  the revision petition.  

7. As per the appellants, the parties have settled the matter, as they have decided to keep harmony between them to enable them to live with peace and love. The compromise  records  that  respondent  no.2  have  no grievances whatsoever against  the appellants and want both  the  appellants  to  get  acquitted  from  the  cases. Further, both the parties have undertaken not to indulge in any litigation against each other and withdraw all the complaints pending between them  before the court.   

8.  In  the  aforesaid  circumstances  and  going  by  the spirit of the law laid down by this Court in the case of B.S. Joshi & Ors. V. State of Haryana & Anr., we are of the opinion that the High Court should have accepted the settlement and compounded the offences. It is, more so, when the settlement between the parties, who were husband and wife, was even acted upon as the parties took mutual divorce on that basis.

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9. We, accordingly, allow this appeal and set aside the order of conviction passed against the appellants.

......................J. [A.K. SIKRI]

.....................J        [ASHOK BHUSHAN]

NEW DELHI; MARCH 26, 2018