Compromise can't end sexual harassment case, says SC
A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices C.T. Ravikumar and P.V. Sanjay Kumar overturned a Rajasthan High Court order that quashed a sexual harassment case based on a compromise between the accused and the complainant.
The Supreme Court stated, “The impugned order is quashed and set aside, FIR and criminal proceedings shall proceed as per law,” emphasizing that the merits of the case were not under consideration. The ruling, reserved since October 2023, addressed whether a High Court can invoke Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code to dismiss a sexual harassment case solely on the grounds of a compromise.
The case involved allegations by a 15-year-old girl, who accused her government school teacher, Vimal Kumar Gupta, of sexual harassment under the POCSO Act and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Although a compromise was reportedly reached, with the girl’s family citing a misunderstanding, the Supreme Court held that such cases should proceed through due legal channels regardless of any settlement.