Karnataka High Court Quashes FIR Against Union Minister Prahlad Joshi's Brother In Alleged 'Election Ticket' Cheating Case

The Karnataka High Court has quashed the cheating case filed by the wife of a former JD(S) MLA against Gopal Joshi- the estranged brother of Union Minister Prahlad Joshi-and his son, holding that the ₹2 crore dispute over an election ticket was a civil matter of money recovery, not a criminal offence.The single-judge bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna noted in the order as follows:“…The issue, in the case at hand, is a transaction which has gone wrong. Money allegedly changed hands. Therefore, it was purely for the purpose of recovery of money criminal proceedings are set into motion, which the Apex Court deprecated…”.According to the complainant, her husband was a former legislator for Naghtana constituency. As per the complainant's version, she had initially given Rs 25 lakhs on the assurance of Gopal that he would secure her husband a BJP Lok Sabha ticket in the 2024 elections. Later, the complainant-wife allegedly gave Rs 1.75 Crores more in cash to Joshi and his aides. Joshi had allegedly demanded Rs 5 crores in return for securing a Lok Sabha seat.When Joshi went back on his promise, she asked for repayment of the money given, but to no avail. This led the complainant's wife to register an FIR against Joshi and his son for offences under Sections 126(2) [wrongful restraint], 115(2) [Voluntarily Causing Hurt] , 118(1)[Hurt by dangerous weapons], 316(2), 318(4)[criminal breach of trust], 61[cheating], and 3(5) [joint liability] of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 3(1)(r) [intentional insult or intimidation of SC/ST members in public view] and 3(1)(s) [abuse of SC/ST members in public view] of the SC/ST Act.The petitioners, who were in police custody, were granted an interim stay on October 28, 2024, after they offered to refund the amount partially.“….Jurisprudence is replete with the judgments of the Apex Court that criminal justice system should not be used for the purpose of recovery of money,” Justice M Nagaprasanna added in the order after referring to Lalit Chaturvedi v. State of Uttar Pradesh , 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 150.The court observed that the necessary ingredient of fraudulent or dishonest intention was absent in the current case in order to constitute the offence of cheating.About the complainant's allegations about SC/ST Act offences, the court noted that the same wouldn't survive the test of law without them being in 'public view'. The alleged altercation with the complainant had happened inside the house of one of the accused-petitioners.“…The complaint itself indicates that the alleged hurling of abuses has taken place in the house of the accused No.2. If it is inside the house within the four corners, it would not become an offence under the Act is by now too well settled principle”, the court noted further.“…pure and simple money transaction between the parties is sought to be rendered with the colour of crime and criminal law is being set into motion for the recovery of money. Therefore, the petition deserves to succeed as, if the investigation is permitted in the case at hand, it would run foul of the judgments…”, the court concluded before quashing the FIR and allowing the writ petition filed by the accused.Senior Counsel D.R Ravishankar and Adv. Mayur D. Bhanu appeared for the petitioners. Adv. B.N Jagadeesha appeared for the state. Senior Advocate M.T Nanaiah represented the respondent. Case Title: Sri Gopal Joshi & Ors. v. State of Karnataka & Anr.Case No.: Writ Petition No. 28739 of 2024Click Here To Read/Download OrderCitation: 2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 126

Karnataka High Court Quashes FIR Against Union Minister Prahlad Joshi's Brother In Alleged 'Election Ticket' Cheating Case

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