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BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
L.VICTORIA GOWRI, J.
Muthuraja – Petitioner
Versus
The State of Tamilnadu, Rep by. the Inspector of Police, City Crime Branch, Tirunelveli – Respondent
Crl.O.P.(MD).No.4153 of 2025
Decided On : 21-04-2026
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. nature and scope of the criminal quash petition against pending proceedings. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. factual allegations of conspiracy, forgery, and misuse of process. (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7) |
| 3. parties' contentions regarding civil dispute versus criminal criminality. (Para 8 , 10 , 11 , 12) |
| 4. admissibility of criminal prosecution despite parallel civil pending litigation. (Para 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18) |
| 5. differentiated culpability based on specific overt acts of the accused. (Para 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24) |
| 6. final orders, abatement due to death, and trial court directions. (Para 25 , 26 , 27 , 28) |
ORDER :
L.VICTORIA GOWRI, J.
This Criminal Original Petition has been filed seeking to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.1331 of 2024 pending on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate No.I, Tirunelveli.
2. The petitioners are arrayed as accused Nos.1 to 7 in the said calendar case. The prosecution has laid the final report for the offences under Sections 120(b), 409, 465, 467 and 468 IPC. During the pendency of the quash petition, the fifth accused, who is the purchaser under the impugned sale deeds, is stated to have died.
3. The controversy, though projected by the petitioners as a pure civil dispute relating to title, has been opposed by the prosecution as well as by the de-facto complainant on the ground that the accusation is not confined to a rival claim over immovable property, but extends to the making of a false complaint regarding loss of parent document, misuse of CSR acknowledgment, and the alleged deception practised upon the Registration Department to secure registration of sale deeds. This Court is therefore called upon to examine whether the allegations in the final report, taken at face value, disclose the commission of cognizable offences warranting trial, or whether continuation of the prosecution would amount to abuse of process of Court.
Case of the Prosecution:
4. According to the prosecution, one Perumal had purchased plots bearing Nos.8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, admeasuring 27.50 cents in Survey No.579/1, situated at Kulavanigapuram Village, Melapalayam, Tirunelveli, under a registered parent document. It is the further case of the prosecution that on 22.02.2007, the said Perumal executed a registered Will in favour of the second respondent/de-facto complainant, namely Raja Muthuramalingam. The prosecution would also state that the original title deed relating to the subject property had been handed over to the de-facto complainant at the time of execution of the Will and that thereafter he had been in possession and enjoyment of the property.
5. Perumal died on 11.05.2018. Upon his demise, the Will allegedly became operative. The prosecution case is that accused Nos.1 to 4, who are the legal heirs of late Perumal, were fully aware of the execution of the Will and also knew that the original parent document was not in their custody. Nevertheless, with an intention to defeat the claim of the beneficiary under the Will and to create title in favour of the fifth accused, they allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy.
6. In furtherance of the said conspiracy, the prosecution alleges that the first accused lodged a false complaint before the Surandai Police Station on 11.07.2023 as though the original parent deed had been lost at Surandai Bus Stand. The police, after enquiry, did not issue any Non-Traceable Certificate and are stated to have only closed the complaint, advising the complainant therein to approach the appropriate authority. However, on the strength of the CSR acknowledgment relating to the said complaint, accused Nos.1 to 4 executed three sale deeds in favour of the fifth accused under Document Nos.6989, 7037 and 7060 of 2023. Accused Nos.6 and 7 stood as attesting witnesses to the said documents. It is further alleged that the registration was facilitated even though the mandatory supporting material for loss of original parent document was absent.
7. On the complaint lodged by the de-facto
The main legal point established in the judgment is the principle that the continuation of criminal proceedings would amount to an abuse of process of the Court, especially in the presence of pending....
A judicial discharge of an accused precludes further prosecution unless the discharge is overturned, emphasizing the finality of judicial orders.
Civil and criminal remedies can coexist; the existence of civil disputes does not prevent criminal prosecutions when serious allegations are made.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the initiation of the prosecution was an abuse of process of law, as the allegations did not establish an offense and had been rejected in pre....
The court established that civil disputes can coexist with criminal allegations, and the merits of such allegations must be determined through trial, not preemptively dismissed.
The court established that allegations of forgery and cheating can coexist with civil disputes, allowing for criminal proceedings to continue.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that lack of prima facie evidence and mala-fide intention in a civil dispute can lead to the quashing of criminal proceedings.
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