Did you know: A High Court cannot set aside an FIR if there are serious accusations in the criminal complaint

The Supreme Court has confirmed that when there are serious triable allegations in a criminal complaint, a High Court should not use its power to set aside an FIR under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

What should a High Court consider to set aside an FIR?

High Courts have the power to set aside an FIR if accepting it would result in an unjustified or unreasonable use of the legal process. The court follows some guidelines while deciding whether to set aside an FIR:

• The court must evaluate whether setting aside the FIR will help the end goal of justice.

• Courts can set aside the FIR even for non-compoundable offences i.e., serious offences which the parties cannot settle between themselves through compromise.  

• The court’s decision to cancel the FIR should depend only on the facts and circumstances of the case, not whether the victim and accused have settled the dispute. 

• The court must consider the nature and seriousness of the offence. Courts cannot set aside the FIR in case of heinous offences involving mental depravity, or offences like murder, rape and dacoity. Such offences are not just private matters, but have a serious impact on society and the court can decide to continue with the trial because of the public interest in punishing such offences. 

• For criminal cases which have elements of a civil dispute, like crimes resulting from commercial, financial, mercantile, partnership or similar transactions, the courts can set aside the FIR in appropriate situations where the parties have settled the dispute. Here, the court should consider the possibility of a conviction, and whether continuing the criminal proceeding would cause oppression. 

• Even for economic offences, the court should consider whether the offence involves the financial and economic well-being of the Government, i.e, whether it has implications beyond a private dispute between individuals. So, the court can refuse to set aside an FIR in a case of financial or economic fraud.

To know more about FIR, read our explainer.