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2000 Supreme(SC) 1520
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
G.B.Pattanaik : U.C.Banerjee
Mahant Ram Saran Dass
Versus
Harish Mohan
Case No. : 794 of 2000
Date of Decision : 9/15/00
Where a competent Civil Court is already seized of a matter and has granted interim reliefs, a Magistrate lacks jurisdiction under Section 145 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to initiate proceedings or appoint a receiver regarding the same property.
Headnote:(A) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - Section 92 - Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Section 145 - Conflict of jurisdiction between Civil Court and Magistrate - Pending civil suit for declaration - Where a competent Civil Court is already seized of the matter and has passed interim orders of injunction and restrictions on alienation of property, the Magistrate has no jurisdiction to entertain an application under Section 145 of the Cr. P.C. to initiate proceedings or appoint a receiver - Such relief can be appropriately sought from the Civil Court itself. (Para 2)
Facts of the case:
A civil suit for declaration under Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure was pending before a competent Civil Court, which had already passed an interim order of injunction and imposed restrictions on the alienation of the property in question. Despite this, an application was filed before a Magistrate under Section 145 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to initiate proceedings and appoint a receiver, although the applicant was not a party-defendant in the pending civil suit.
Findings of Court:
The Magistrate had no jurisdiction to entertain the application under Section 145 of the Cr. P.C. or pass orders therein since the Civil Court was already in session of the matter and provided the appropriate forum for relief.
Issues: Whether a Magistrate is entitled to invoke jurisdiction under Section 145 of the Cr. P.C. and pass interim orders, including the appointment of a receiver, when a civil suit for declaration under Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure is already pending before a competent Civil Court.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that if a Civil Court is already seized of the matter and has granted interim protections, the Magistrate lacks the jurisdiction to initiate parallel proceedings under Section 145 of the Cr. P.C. The fact that the moving party before the Magistrate was not a defendant in the civil suit does not alter the lack of jurisdiction, as appropriate relief should be sought from the Civil Court.
Result: Impugned order of the High Court and proceedings before the Magistrate set aside.
Legal Category Hierarchy
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practice and procedure
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civil procedure
- suits under section 92 cpc
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criminal procedure
- proceedings under section 145 crpc
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jurisdiction
- conflict of jurisdiction between civil and criminal courts
-
civil procedure
(1) LEAVE granted.
(2) THE short question that arises for consideration is whether in the facts and circumstances of the present case, a civil suit for declaration under Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure being pending before the competent forum, Civil Court, the respondent was entitled to invoke the jurisdiction of the Magistrate under Section 145 of the Cri. P.C. and the Magistrate was entitled to initiate the proceedings and pass any interim order of appointment of Receiver therein. It is not disputed that in the civil suit itself the Court has passed interim order of injunction and put certain restrictions on the parties with regard to alienation of the property in question. It is true that applicant before the Magistrate, has not been arrayed as party- defendant in the civil suit, but that will not alter the position in any manner since in our view the Civil Court being in session of the matter, any appropriate relief could be obtained from the Civil Court itself and the Magistrate had no jurisdiction in the case in hand to entertain the application under Section 145 and to pass any orders thereon. In the circumstances, the impugned order of the High Court as well as the proceedings initiated before the Magistrate under Section 145 of the Cri. P.C. stand set aside. The appeal is disposed of accordingly. Needless to mention the status quo as on today to be maintained to enable the parties to move the Civil Court for appropriate orders.
