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BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
L.VICTORIA GOWRI
S.Ramesh – Appellant
Versus
State of Tamil Nadu, Rep. by, The Inspector of Police – Respondent
ORDER :
L.VICTORIA GOWRI, J.
Preface:
The inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, is intended to prevent abuse of process and to secure the ends of justice. The power is extraordinary and is exercised sparingly, yet, where the criminal process is demonstrably deployed as a weapon in a civil dispute, the Hon'ble High Court would be failing in its constitutional duty if it does not intervene at the threshold.
2. The present petition is one such instance, where a property dispute, already the subject of long-standing civil proceedings has spilled into a prosecution for alleged offences under Sections 294 (b), 447 and 506(ii) IPC , on a factual foundation that appears fragile, inconsistent, and unsupported by independent material.
Facts in brief:
3. The FIR in Crime No.67 of 2021 was registered by the first respondent police on 19.02.2021, based on a complaint dated 08.02.2021, alleging an occurrence on 07.02.2021. The FIR originally invoked Sections 294 (b), 447, 427 and 506(ii) IPC . It is the petitioner’s case that the CSR entry was made only on 13.02.2021, the FIR was registered belatedly on 19.02.2021 and produced before
The inherent jurisdiction under Section 528 BNSS prevents criminal prosecution from being used as a tool in a civil dispute, especially in cases lacking substantial criminal evidence.
The court ruled that criminal proceedings arising from civil disputes constitute an abuse of legal process, quashing the charge under the special statute while retaining specific IPC allegations for ....
Criminal proceedings stemming from civil disputes must reveal substantial criminal elements; otherwise, they serve as a misuse of process and warrant quashing.
Criminal proceedings should not be pursued when the dispute is purely civil and lacks essential elements of a cognizable offence, to prevent misuse of criminal law.
Criminal proceedings cannot be quashed merely due to related civil disputes; both can coexist if criminal allegations substantiate independent wrongful conduct.
Civil disputes should not be converted into criminal cases; FIR quashed as allegations did not constitute an offense and indicated mala fides.
The Court can quash criminal proceedings if a civil dispute is given a criminal nature and if criminal proceedings are used as instruments of harassment.
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