The Delhi High Court issued practice directions for expeditious handling of non-contentious compromise-based petitions involving quashing of FIRs.

The Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru on the recommendation of the 'Committee to consider proposed draft rules titled “Case Flow Management (Subordinate Courts of Delta) Rules, 2008’’ with the evaluation and Case Flow Management Rates in High Cotrrt of Delhi ’ issued the Practice Directions.

The Notification says, “All non-contentious compromise-based petitions involving quashing of FIRs be preliminarily listed before the Joint Registrar (Judicial) for criminal jurisdiction. The Joint Registrar can further verify and ensure compliance with the latest guidelines laid down by the Hon’bIe Supreme Court in matters filed based on compromise.”

It has also been mentioned therein that the Joint Registrar may further verify through online modes, such as Aadhaar-linked verification systems and other e-KYC modes, the identity and free will of the parties involved in the compromise and ensure that their consent is genuine and not obtained under undue influence or pressure. The Investigating Officer may also be directed to appear before the Joint Registrar virtually for verification of identity of the parties.

“A 'Consent Calendar’ may also be introduced. This calendar would batch together all non-contentious compromise matters on designated days and the Hon’bIe Judge shall review the pre-vetted petitions sent by the Joint Registrar and in cases where no judicial intervention is necessary, may pronounce the orders en-masse. This approach would significantly reduce the need for full oral hearings and thus preserve precious judicial time”, it said

Some other directions mentioned therein are as follows:

  • The consent hearings may be conducted virtually through secured video conferencing platforms. The parties, along with their counsel, may confirm the compromise before the Joint Registrar through virtual mode, which may further cut down delays caused by logistical issues such as personal appearances and adjournments.
  • Once all the conditions of quashing the FIR have been met, the Joint Registrar, after being satisfied may forward the matter to the Hon’ble Bench for final pronouncements which would either quash or dismiss the FIR based on the pre-verified report. This process would significantly reduce the time of this court otherwise, required by each Bench to scrutinize these compromise matters
  • In cases where contentious issues arise or where the compromise does not fall strictly within the parameters laid down by the Supreme Court, the Joint Registrar can red-flag such matters and place them before the Bench for suitable orders. Thus, matters where contentious issues arise, may be listed for full hearing, thereby saving precious judicial time which can be spent on matters necessitating the application of judicial mind.

Click here to read/download Notification



Delhi HCACJ Vibhu Bakhru

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.