HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO CRIMINAL PETITION No.8120 of 2011 ORDER: This Criminal Petition is filed by the petitioners-accused Nos.1 and 2, under Section 482 Cr.P.C., with a prayer to direct the VI Addl. Sessions Judge-cum-Mahila Judge, Visakhapatnam to compound the offences and acquit them in Crl.A.No.99 of 2008. Briefly, the facts of the case are that the petitioners herein were tried for the offences punishable under Sections 498-A of IPC and 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act in C.C.No.1486 of 2005 on the file of the I Addl. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Visakhapatnam, and after completion of trial and on appreciation of both the oral and documentary evidence, the learned Magistrate convicted the accused for the said offences and, accordingly, sentenced them, by judgment dated 31.07.2008. Being aggrieved by the same, the petitioners filed an appeal before the Metropolitan Sessions Judge at Visakhapatnam in Crl.A.No.99 of 2008. Learned counsel for the petitioner has mainly submitted that during pendency of the criminal appeal, at the intervention of elders and well wishers, the petitioners and the 1st respondent- complainant have settled the matter out of Court, but however the learned Sessions Judge is not inclined to permit the complainant to compound the offences with the petitioners since it is in the appellate stage. Section 320 of Cr.P.C. clearly indicates that even at the appellate stage, the complainant can compound an offence with the accused. In view of the same, even if some offences are non- compoundable, the learned VI Addl. Sessions Judge-cum-Mahila Judge, Visakhapatnam is hereby directed to consider the compounding petition and to dispose of the Criminal Appeal No.99 of 2008 on or before 07.10.2011. The Criminal Petition is accordingly allowed and the miscellaneous petitions, if any, filed shall stand closed. _____________ RAJA ELANGO, J 20th September, 2011 cbs HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO Crl.P.No.8120 of 2011 (Allowed) 20th September, 2011 cbs