Section 320 CrPC deals with compounding of offences. Compoundable offences:
Aare all offences without exception, subject to court approval at any stage of the trial (cf. CrPC, Section 320)
Bmay be compromised between the accused and the victim, with court permission where required by sub-section (2)
Cinclude all offences punishable with imprisonment for life or death penalty (cf. CrPC, Section 320)
Dare limited to private civil disputes between two parties under family law statutes (cf. CrPC, Section 320)
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. may be compromised between the accused and the victim, with court permission where required by sub-section (2)
1. Section 320 CrPC lists offences that may be compounded by the victim with the accused, dispensing with the trial.
2. Two categories: (i) offences compoundable WITHOUT court permission (e.g. simple hurt, defamation); (ii) offences compoundable WITH court permission (e.g. grievous hurt, criminal breach of trust, theft).
3. Once compounded, the effect is acquittal (Section 320(8)).
4. Murder, rape, terrorism etc. are NOT compoundable; the State alone is the offended party.
5. Hence option A is correct.
_Source: Indian Penal Code 1860 / Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 / Indian Evidence Act 1872 (Bare Acts, indiacode.nic.in) — CrPC, Section 320_
Related questions
Section 357A CrPC, inserted by the 2009 Amendment Act, provides for:Section 161 IPC criminalises the taking of:Section 122 IEA enacts marital privilege. It provides that:Section 60 IEA enacts the rule that oral evidence must be DIRECT, namely:Section 173 CrPC requires the officer in charge of a police station, on completion of inveSection 156 CrPC empowers the officer in charge of a police station to investigate a cogniSection 268 IPC defines 'public nuisance' as an act which causes:Section 53 IPC enumerates the kinds of punishment to which offenders are liable. Which is