1 wp3564.10 ast IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO.3564 OF 2010 Mr. Ravi Harichandra Makhija & ors. ....Petitioners. Vs. State of Maharashtra & ors. ....Respondents Ms. Edith Dey, advocate for petitioners. Mr. A.H.H.Ponda, advocate for Respondent No.3. Mr. H.J.Dedhia, APP for State. CORAM:- A.M.KHANWILKAR AND A.P. BHANGALE, JJ. DATED:- DECEMBER 21, 2010. P.C. 1. By this Petition, it is prayed that record and proceedings of C.R. No.326 of 2009 of Gamdevi Police Station be called for and all the proceedings pending before 40th Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court, Girgaum, Mumbai be quashed and set aside. This relief is claimed on the assertion that the Petitioners and the Respondent No.3 have arrived at amicable settlement which is essentially pertaining to matrimonial dispute between the Petitioner No.1 and Respondent No.3. The private parties have settled the matter pursuant to the suggestion made by the Court in Criminal Writ Petition No.3158 of 2010, which was 2 wp3564.10 eventually withdrawn with liberty to the parties to file appropriate consent terms for divorce by mutual consent before the Family Court, Mumbai at Bandra. Consequent thereto, the Petitioner No.1 and Respondent No.3 have filed consent terms before the Family Court, Mumbai at Bandra on 13th October, 2010, which has been appended to this Petition as Exh. C. The Respondent No. 3 has agreed that she is no more interested in pursuing the criminal action against the Petitioners in the present Petition. That fact is also noted in the consent terms filed before the Family Court, Mumbai at Bandra. It is not in dispute that the matter is only at the stage of FIR and no chargesheet is filed by the local police in connection with the complaint made by the Respondent No.3. Considering the above, we have no hesitation in acceding to the request of the Petitioners to quash the proceedings, which relief essentially is with the consent of the Respondent No.3, who is present in court. She has already consented for such course of action, as is noted in the Consent Terms filed before the Family Court, Mumbai at Bandra. In the interest of justice, therefore, the Petition deserves to be allowed. 2. We however, place on record the objection of the learned APP that merely because the Petitioners and Respondent No.3 have arrived at amicable settlement, the Court cannot proceed to quash the criminal action. For the 3 wp3564.10 reasons already mentioned hitherto as observed earlier, this is a fit case where in the interest of justice, the Court ought to exercise its writ jurisdiction and quash the pending criminal action between the parties. 3. Accordingly, Petition is allowed in terms of prayer clause(a) which reads as follows: “(a) That this Hon’ble Court be pleased to issue any writ or order or any direction in the nature of certiorari or mandamus; and call for the record and proceedings of C.R.No. 326/2009 of Gamdevi Police Station and upon examining the legality and propriety of the same this court be pleased to quash the same.” (A.P.BHANGALE, J.) (A.M.KHANWILKAR, J.)