In Brief
An insurance policyholder filed a criminal complaint against an insurance company and its agents, alleging cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy after she sent cheques totalling Rs. 92,000 based on false promises of bonus disbursement, but instead received insurance policies she never applied for. The accused moved to quash the proceedings. The Supreme Court allowed both appeals and quashed the criminal proceedings after the accused agreed to pay Rs. 10,00,000 in settlement. The Court held that despite the offences being technically non-compoundable, it could exercise power under Article 142 to permit settlement because the dispute was predominantly civil in nature, serving the ends of justice.
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