LAVANYA CHADHA AND ANR vs STATE GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI

Judgment text excerpt

$~85 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Date of Decision: 16th March, 2026 + CRL.M.C. 1883/2026 & CRL.M.A. 7741-7742/2026 LAVANYA CHADHA AND ANR .....Petitioners Through: Mr. Anshuj Dhingra with Ms. Akansha Sharma, Advocates with petitioner No.1 in person and petitioner No.2 through V.C. versus STATE GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI .....Respondent Through: Mr. Aashneet Singh, APP for State with SI Madal Pal, PS Domestic Airport. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ JAIN J U D G M E N T (oral) 1. Petitioners herein seek quashing of FIR No. 80009660 dated 03.02.2026, registered at police station Palam Domestic Airport/e-Police Station for commission of offence under Section 303(2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 (corresponding Section 379 of IPC) along with all consequential proceedings arising therefrom, on the basis of compromise arrived at between the parties. 2. Petitioner No.1 is the alleged accused whereas petitioner No.2 happens to be the complainant. 3. As per prosecution’s story, petitioner No.1, along with her one friend Ishika Makkar, had taken a flight from Delhi to Bangalore on 29.01.2026. Signature Not Verified Signed By:SONIA CRL.M.C. 1883/2026 1 THAPLIYAL Signing Date:17.03.2026 18:00:02 After completing frisking and security screening process, she picked up AirPods under the impression that it was her AirPods as her sister owned the one. According to her, on account of identical appearance of such pods, she could not comprehend that such pods, in fact, belonged to petitioner No.2. 4. Petitioner No.2 was also travelling, albeit, from Delhi to Mumbai and since he found his AirPods missing, he sought assistance from the airport security and, eventually, was able to locate his such AirPods, being in use elsewhere and that was how the Investigating Agen