Criminal proceedings involving allegations of criminal trespass and theft cannot be quashed merely due to the pendency of parallel civil disputes, provided the investigation materials prima facie disclose the essential ingredients of the offences, as factual disputes regarding title and possession must be resolved at trial.

ORDER :

L.VICTORIA GOWRI, J.

Prologue:

1.The inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, is a jurisdiction of great amplitude, but equally of great restraint. It is intended to secure the ends of justice and to prevent abuse of the process of any Court. However, such jurisdiction cannot be invoked to conduct a meticulous appreciation of disputed facts, to weigh the probative value of statements recorded during investigation, or to prematurely extinguish a prosecution where the materials disclose the basic ingredients of the alleged offences.

2. The present Criminal Original Petition raises the familiar but delicate question as to whether an allegation of cutting and removal of standing eucalyptus trees from agricultural land, in the backdrop of an asserted family property dispute and pending civil proceedings, ought to be treated as a purely civil dispute or whether the materials collected during investigation disclose a prima facie criminal offence warranting trial.

3. The petitioners, who are arrayed as Accused Nos.1 and 3 in C.C.No.236 of 2025 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate, Thirumayam, Pudukkottai District, seek quashment of the final report filed for the alleged offences under Sections 303(2) and 329 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

Case of the Prosecution:

4. The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that the second respondent / de facto complainant is the owner and person in possession of the agricultural wet land comprised in Survey No. 433/7 situated at Virachilai Village, Thirumayam Post, Pudukkottai District, measuring an extent of 1.65.50 hectares.

5. According to the prosecution, a portion of the said land had been cultivated with six-year-old eucalyptus trees. The value of the trees allegedly cut and removed is stated to be approximately Rs. 1,00,000/-.It is alleged that on 19.12.2024, at about 11.00 a.m., the second respondent came to know that the eucalyptus trees standing in the said land had been illegally cut and removed on the previous day by certain persons.

6. On enquiry, it allegedly came to light that the petitioners herein, along with another accused, had trespassed into the land of the second respondent, cut the standing eucalyptus trees and removed the same. It is further alleged that one Sadiq, a timber merchant, had assisted the accused persons in cutting, transporting and disposing of the said eucalyptus trees.

7. On the basis of the complaint, a case was registered by the first respondent police for the offences under Sections 303(2) and 329 of BNS, 2023. After investigation, the first respondent police laid a final report, which was taken cognizance of in C.C.No.236 of 2025 by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Thirumayam, Pudukkottai District.

Grounds Raised for Quashment:

8. The petitioners seek quashment of the impugned proceedings primarily on the following grounds:

i. The entire dispute is civil in nature and arises out of rival claims over the property in Survey No.433/7.

ii. A civil suit in O.S.No.22 of 2025 / O.S.No.224 of 2025 is pending in respect of the very same property, wherein the second respondent is arrayed as one of the defendants.

iii. The petitioners have no independent right, title or interest in the subject property and were only assisting one Biraman, who claims right over the property.

iv. The eucalyptus trees were allegedly cultivated and sold by Biraman and his brothers, who claim to be the lawful persons entitled to deal with the property.

v. No recovery of any eucalyptus wood or sale proceeds has been made from the petit