The Uttrakhand High Court (UHC), rejecting the petition seeking to quash the proceedings on the grounds of amicable settlement, held that an offence punishable under Section 295A Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) cannot be compounded under Section 320 IPC. The UHC observed that “if this act of derogating the other’s religious sentiments is permitted to be continue, it rather acts as a parasite, which eats the society itself and creates an uncalled-for animosity resulting into public disorder and unrest….”
