JUDGMENT :

N.KIRUBAKARAN, J

Civil Court proceedings are very lengthy and protracted, driving the party to go in search of alternate way of settling the civil dispute or recovery of money at the earliest viz., by way of criminal complaint. This phenomenon is not new and it has been decried by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in umpteen number of judgments.

2.1. The Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Indian Oil Corporation v. NEPC India Limited and Others reported in (2006) 6 SCC 736 has held in paragraph 13 and 14 as follows:

“13. While on this issue, it is necessary to take notice of a growing tendency in business circles to convert purely civil disputes into criminal cases. This is obviously on account of a prevalent impression that civil law remedies are time consuming and do not adequately protect the interests of lenders/creditors. Such a tendency is seen in several family disputes also, leading to irretrievable breakdown of marriages/families. There is also an impression that if a person could somehow be entangled in a criminal prosecution, there is a likelihood of imminent settlement. Any effort to settle civil disputes and claims, which do not involve any criminal offence, by applying