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VIKRAM NATH, SANDEEP MEHTA
Mala Choudhary – Appellant
Versus
State Of Telangana – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
Mehta, J.
1. Heard.
2. Leave granted.
3. The appellants herein have approached this Court by way of the instant appeal, under Article 136 of the Constitution of India, for assailing the final order dated 28th April, 2023 passed by the High Court of Telangana at Hyderabad1[Hereinafter, referred to as “High Court”.] in Criminal Petition No. 7869 of 2021 whereby the High Court dismissed the petition filed by the appellants, seeking quashing of the FIR No. 771 of 2020 registered at Police Station Gachibowli, Cyberabad and the Criminal Case No. 3613 of 2021 registered on the file of XII Addl. Metropolitan Magistrate, Kukatpally, Ranga Reddy District pursuant to the chargesheet filed as a sequel to the investigation of the aforesaid FIR. The High Court decided the petition filed by the appellants in the following manner:
Complainant should be penalized with exemplary cost for misusing process of criminal law in a case which is of purely civil nature.
Cheating and forgery – A bonafide criminal prosecution cannot be quashed at threshold.
The court established that criminal proceedings cannot be used to settle civil disputes, emphasizing that the FIR lacked allegations constituting a criminal offence and should be quashed.
The court held that criminal proceedings cannot continue when the underlying dispute is civil in nature, to prevent abuse of the judicial process.
The court held that allegations in the FIR disclose commission of criminal offences, and the existence of a civil remedy does not preclude criminal proceedings.
Civil disputes can involve criminal elements; thus, the existence of a civil remedy does not automatically justify quashing a criminal FIR.
(1) Exercise of inherent jurisdiction – Appreciation of contradictions or inconsistencies in witness statements lies within exclusive domain of trial Court and not in proceedings under Section 482 Cr....
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