No person would sign a document admitting his guilt and allow criminal proceedings to continue since the same would inevitably lead to conviction on confession: Delhi HC quashes FIR against man for sending obscene messages to brother's wife
Justice Amit Mahajan [01-07-2024]

Read Order: Vikrant Gupta v. State & Anr [DEL HC CRL.M.C. 5977/2019 & CRL.M.A. 40995/2019]

LE Correspondent

New Delhi, July 4, 2024: The Delhi High Court has quashed an FIR registered against a man for allegedly sending obscene, threatening and defamatory messages to his brother's wife and friends. The court took into account a settlement deed signed by the two brothers to resolve their dispute.

The FIR was registered in 2014 under Section 67 of the IT Act based on a complaint by the petitioner's brother, alleging that the petitioner Vikrant Gupta had sent vulgar messages threatening to outrage the modesty of his wife and tried to extort Rs. 2 crores from him. During the proceedings, the two brothers entered into a settlement in 2016, where the petitioner admitted his guilt and offered an unconditional apology. As per the settlement deed, Gupta undertook "that in future, he would not circulate, transmit, communicate any such messages" and also withdrew claims regarding certain family properties.

Quashing the FIR, Justice Amit Mahajan noted that the petitioner had "acknowledged his mistakes and had tendered unconditional apology" and that "the parties had voluntarily entered into a settlement".

“The petitioner after having admitted to his guilt had entered into a settlement. The document was also filed before the civil court. No person, in the opinion of this Court, would sign a document admitting his guilt and allow the criminal proceedings to continue since the same would inevitably lead to conviction on confession,” the court observed.

It added that “Allowing the continuance of the present proceedings, when the accused / petitioner has admitted his guilt, has tendered unconditional apology to the complainant who happens to be his real brother and also discharged his obligations in the Settlement Deed, would be an abuse of process of the Court”.

The High Court quashed the FIR and all proceedings emanating from it, holding that this would "not only save judicial time but also bring a closure to an animosity and litigation between the real brothers."