Yashpal Chaudhrani & Ors. V. State (Govt. of NCT Delhi)
In the High Court of Delhi
Crl.M.C. 5765, 5768, 5785, 5805, 5995/2018
Before Justice RK Gauba
Decided on April 22, 2019

Relevancy of the case: Validity of settlement through mediation in cases of credit card fraud, rape, and sexual assault

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66A, 67)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 173, 482)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 376, 377, 354. 506, 509, 323, 341, 420, 468, 471, 474, 379, 409, 120B, 34)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• These five petitions have come before the court for quashing of criminal proceedings. In each petition, the petitioners have submitted that they have reached a settlement via mediation.
• Four petitions are credit card frauds from 2003. The remaining one case relates to allegations of sexual harassment and rape, involving obscene calls.

Opinion of the Bench

• There is no bar in referring parties to mediation provided a certain context, which is a potent Alternate Dispute Resolution Tool. However, the court should see whether such a settlement is justifiable.
• The cases of credit card fraud are not private and have severe ramifications for the state. They directly affect the public at large and banking institutions. As the cases are more than 15 years old, it reflects that they have not reached a meaningful end. The accused persons are taking benefit of their own wrongs. Their settlement is not reasonable in the interest of justice.
• The fifth petition involves allegations of rape and sexual assault. This case has an element of mental depravity. A court cannot allow such cases to be settled.
• Furthermore, the parties withheld material information from the mediator. The High Court rejected the petition to quash criminal proceedings in 2017.

Final Decision

• The court dismissed all the petitions.