Holding

The FIR does not disclose a case of extortion under Section 384 IPC; therefore the charge is quashed and the compromise petition may be considered.

Summary

The appellant and the informant were involved in a commercial dispute over payment for supplied bags. The informant alleged that the appellant and a third person forcibly took Rs.1580 from his pocket, leading to an FIR that listed offences including extortion under Section 384 IPC. The High Court rejected a compromise petition, holding that Section 384 is non‑compoundable under Section 320 CrPC. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined the FIR and found it did not disclose the essential ingredients of extortion, namely intentional fear and dishonest inducement. Consequently, the Court held that no case under Section 384 existed, quashed the charge, and directed the magistrate to consider the compromise petition. The appeal was allowed and no costs were awarded.

Issues considered

Whether the facts alleged in the FIR constitute the offence of extortion under Section 384 IPC.
Whether a compromise can be accepted in a prosecution for a non‑compoundable offence under Section 384 IPC.

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 239, s. 320(1), s. 320(2), s. 320(9), s. 482
Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 323, s. 34, s. 383, s. 384, s. 504

Subjects

extortionnon‑compoundable offencecompromise petitionSection 384 IPCFirst Information Reportcriminal procedurequash of charge

Judgment

A DHANANJA Y@ DHANANJA Y KUMAR SINGH
v.
STATE OF BIHAR AND ANR.

FEBRUARY 2, 2007

B [S.B. SINHA AND MARKANDEY KA TJU, JJ.]
DHANANJA Y@DHANANJA Y KUMARSINGHv. STATE OF BIHAR 207

2.1. A First Information Report must be read in its entirety. The parties A
herein entered into transactions relating to supply of bags. The fact that
some amount was due to the appellant from the First Informant, is not in
dispute. The First Information Report itself disclosed that accounts were
settled a year prior to the date of incident and the appellant owed a sum of
about Rs.400-500 from 'G'. According to the said 'G', however, a sum of B
Rs.1500/- only was due to him. It is in the aforementioned premise the
allegations that 'G' and the appellant slapped the First Informant and took
out Rs.1580/- from his upper pocket must be viewed. No allegation was made
that the money was paid by the informant having been put in fear of injury or
putting him in such fear by the appellant was intentional The First Informant,
admittedly, has also not delivered any property or valuable security to the C
appellant. [Paras 7-111[209-F-H;210-A-BI

2.2. Distinction between theft and extortion is well known. Whereas
offence of extortion is carried out by over-powering the will of the owner; in
commission of an offence of theft the offender's intention is always to take
without that person's consent. [Para 121 [210-B) D
2.3. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, no case
under Section 384, IPC was made out in the First Information Report
[Para 131 [210-CJ

3. The Courts would have no power to allow compromise of a prosecution E
when the same is not permissible in terms of Section 320,Cr.P.C. In the
present case, no case has been made out for proceeding against the appellant
under Section 384, IPC. In that view of the matter, there was absolutely no
reason as to why the settlement arrived at by and between the parties could
not have been accepted, as the same would not come within the purview of
Sub-Section (9) of Section 320, CrPC. For the reasons aforementioned, F
while quashing the charge framed under Section 384, IPC the Magistrate
is directed to proceed to consider the question in regard to the maintainability
of the compromise petition between the parties in accordance with
law. [Paras 14, 16, 171[210-D;211-C-E]

Bankat & Anr. v. State of Maharashtra, 12005) 1 SCC 343 and Badrilal G
v. State of MP., [2005) 7 SCC 55, referred to.

I
)
2007,
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 149 of

From the Judgment and Final Order dated 18-4-2006 of the High Court H
208 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] 2 S.C.R.

A of Judicature at Patna in Crl. Misc. No. !0432/2003.
Kumar Parimal and P.V. Yogeswaran for the Appellant.

Gopal Singh for the Respondents.
..,
B The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

S.B. SINHA, J. I. Leave granted.

2. This appeal is directed against a judgment and order dated 18.4.2006
passed by the High Court of Judicature at Patna in Criminal Miscellaneous I
C No. !0432 of2003, whereby and whereunder a compromise between the parties ..
was not accepted as the appellants were said to be involved in commission
of an offence under Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code, I 860.

3. The basic fact of the matter is not in dispute. A written report was
lodged on 6.9.2000 by the 2nd respondent herein alleging that on 31.8.2000
D at about 5.00 p.m. some unknown persons had come to his room No.207 at
Jagat Trade Centre at Fraser Road, Patna and informed him that as a sum of
Rs.1500/- was due to him, he should make the payment thereof. Allegedly,
on his reply that he would make the payment only of the amount due from
him as per settled accounts; abusive language was used and he was slapped
by one Gautam Dubey. A sum of Rs.1580/- was said to have been take11 away
E from his upper pocket. A First Information Report was lodged on the basis
of the said report after six days from the alleged date of commission of the
offence. The parties, however, arrived at an amicable settlement of their
dispute. A charge-sheet was filed on completion of investigation on 2.2.200 I
against the appellant herein purported to be for an offence under Sections
F 323, 384, 504 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. An application
for discharge was filed by the appellant under Section 239 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973, inter alia, on the premise that the disputes between
the parties had been settled. The said application was rejected by the learned
Judicial Magistrate on the ground that Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code
being non-compoundable, the said application was not sustainable. An
G application filed by the appellant before the High Court under Section 482 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure was dismissed by reason of the impugned
judgment, relying on or on the basis of a decision of this Court in Bankat
& Anr. v. State of Maharashtra, [2005] I SCC 343.

H 4. Submission of Mr. Kumar Parimal, learned counsel appearing on
DHANANJA Y@DHANANJA YKUMAR SINGH v. STA TEOF BIHAR [S.B. SINHA,J.] 209
behalf of the appellant herein was that the High Court committed a manifest A
error in arriving at the said finding inasmuch as the First Information Report,
even if given face value and taken to be correct in its entirety, does not
disclose any offence under Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code.

5. Section 384 provides for punishment for extortion. What would be
an extortion is provided under Section 383 of the Indian Penal Code in the B
following terms:

"383. Extortion:- Whoever intentionally puts any person in fear
of any injury to that person, or to any other, and thereby dishonestly
induces the person so put in fear to deliver to any person any
property or valuable security, or anything signed or sealed which may C
be converted into a valuable security, commits "extortion"."

6. A bare perusal of the aforementioned provision would demonstrate
that the following ingredients would constitute the offence :

I. The accused must put any person in fear of injury to that perfon D
or any other person.

2. The putting of a person in such fear must be intentional.

3. The accused must thereby induce the person so put in fear to
deliver to any person any property, valuable security or anything E
signed or sealed which may be converted into a valuable security.

4. Such inducement must be done dishonestly.

7. A First Information Report as is well known, must be read in its
entirety. It is not in dispute that the parties entered into transactions relating F
to supply of bags. The fact that some amount was due to the appellant from
the First Informant, is not in dispute. The First Information Report itself
disclosed that accounts were settled a year prior to the date of incident and
the appellant owed a sum of about Rs.400-500 from Gautam Dubey.

8. According to the said Gautam Dubey, however, a sum of Rs.1500/- G
only was due to him .

.; 9. It is in the aforementioned premise the allegations that Gautam Dubey
and the appellant slapped the First Informant and took out Rs.1580/- from his
upper pocket must be viewed.
H
210 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007) 2 S.C.R.

A 10. No allegation was made that the money was paid by the informant
having been put in fear of injury or putting him in such fear by the appellant
was intentional.

11. The First Informant, admittedly, has also not delivered any property
or valuable security to the appellant.
B
12. A distinction between theft and extortion is well known. Whereas
offence of extortion is carried out by over-powering the will of the owner; in
commission of an offence of theft the offender's intention is always to take
without that person's consent.

C 13. We, therefore, are of the opinion that having regard to the facts and
circumstances of the case, no case under Section 384 of the Indian Penal
Code was made out in the First Information Report.

14. It is true that having regard to the decision of this Court in Bankat
(supra) that the Courts would have no power to allow compromise of a
D prosecution when the same is not permissible in terms of Section 320 of Code
of Criminal Procedure. Therein it was held :

"In our view, the submission of the learned counsel for the
respondent requires to be accepted. For compounding of the offences
punishable under !PC, a complete scheme is provided under Section
E
320 of the Code. Sub-section (I) of Section 320 provides that the
offences mentioned in the table provided thereunder can be
compounded by the persons mentioned in column 3 of the said table.
Further, sub-section (2) provides that the offences mentioned in the
table could be compounded by the victim with the permission of the
F court. As against this, sub-section (9) specifically provides that "no
offence shall be compounded except as provided by this section". In
view of the aforesaid legislative mandate, only the offences which are
covered by Table I or Table 2 as stated above can be compounded
and the rest of the offences punishable under IPC could not be
compounded."
G
15. We may, however, notice that in Badrilal v. State of M.P., [2005] 7
SCC 55 a Division Bench of this Court held as under :

"A joint petition of compromise has been filed on behalf of the
parties in which prayer has been made for recording the compromise.
H
--l

DHANANJA Y@DHANANJA YKUMAR SINGH v. STATE OFBIHAR [S.B. SINHA, J.] 211

The offence under Section 307 !PC is not a compoundable one, A
therefore, compromise cannot be recorded, but at the same time it is
well settled that while awarding sentence the effect of compromise can
be taken into consideration. It has been stated that the appellant has
remained in custody for a period of about 14 months and there is no
allegation that he assaulted the deceased. In the facts and
circumstances of the case, we are of the view that ends of justice B
should be met in case the sentence of imprisonment awarded against
the appellant by the trial court and reduced by the High Court is
further reduced to the period already undergone."

16. We need not, having regard to the facts and circumstances, go into C
the aforementioned contentious issue in the instant case, as we are of the
view that no case has been made out for proceeding against the appellant
under Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code. In that view of the matter, there
was absolutely no reason as to why the settlement arrived at by and between
the parties could not have been accepted, as the same would not come within
the purview of Sub-Section (9) of Section 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. D

17. For the reasons aforementioned, while quashing the charge framed
unc.'er Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code, we direct the learned Magistrate
to proceed to consider the question in regard to the maintainability of the
compromise petition between the parties in accordance with law.
E
18. The appeal is allowed. No costs.

B.B.B. Appeal allowed.