New Delhi, Nov. 3 -- The Supreme Court has cautioned courts against quashing criminal cases involving serious offences, particularly rape, merely because the accused and complainant have reached a settlement, observing that a trial could be the best way to establish whether a complaint was false and motivated by the prospect of a financial settlement or whether the compromise was secured through coercion. The court underlined that settlements in such cases could be driven by pressure from the accused, while also flagging the possibility of false accusations being raised in the hope of extracting money through a subsequent compromise. It said both possibilities needed careful examination rather than the automatic termination of criminal proceedings on the basis of a settlement. "...we cannot but reiterate our caution insofar as false accusations being raised on the lure of a financial settlement and also on the other hand settlements, motivated by coercion," a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran observed. The bench made the observations while setting aside a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that had quashed a rape complaint against a man by invoking its inherent powers after the parties reportedly entered into a compromise. The Supreme Court directed that the trial proceed, while separately granting the accused anticipatory bail.P4...