Quashing FIR for abetment of suicide on compromise alone is impermissible where the offence is grave and non-compoundable.

Section 482 CrPC cannot be used to quash an FIR for abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC merely because the accused and the complainant have settled. The offence is grave, non-compoundable and against society, so compromise alone is insufficient to justify termination of the proceedings. The High Court was also faulted for quashing without hearing the deceased's widow and for refusing to recall that order. The Supreme Court held that the nature and gravity of the offence must be examined before invoking inherent powers, and the quashing order, as well as the refusal to recall it, was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the High Court could quash an FIR alleging abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code on the basis of a settlement between the accused and the complainant, and whether the refusal to recall that quashing order was sustainable.

Analysis: The offence alleged was grave and non-compoundable. The inherent power under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is wide but must be exercised sparingly, only to prevent abuse of process or secure the ends of justice. Crimes such as abetment of suicide are offences against society and are not in the category of private disputes capable of being neutralised merely by compromise with the informant. A settlement with the complainant or other relatives cannot justify quashing such proceedings, particularly where the widow of the deceased was not heard before the original quashing order. The High Court, therefore, erred in quashing the FIR solely on the basis of settlement and in declining recall of that order.

Conclusion: The quashing of the FIR on the basis of compromise was impermissible, and the order refusing recall was unsustainable. The appeal succeeded in favour of the appellant.

Ratio Decidendi: Proceedings for grave, non-compoundable offences against society, including abetment of suicide, cannot be quashed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure merely because the complainant has settled with the accused; the High Court must examine the nature and gravity of the offence and cannot treat compromise as sufficient by itself.

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