Supreme Court Imposes Costs On UP Police For Filing FIR Over Civil Dispute

The Supreme Court on April 16 imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on the State of Uttar Pradesh for the police action of converting a civil dispute into a criminal case.The Court said that the State can recover the cost from the errant cops. "It will be open to the State of Uttar Pradesh to conduct internal enquiries and collect this amount from the delinquent and responsible officers."The bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was hearing a plea seeking quashing of criminal proceedings against the petitioner for the offences under sections 420, 406, 354, 504, 506 IPC. It was the case of the complainant that the petitioners allegedly cheated him of Rs.19 Lakhs over the false promise to execute a sale deed of certain house property. Before the High Court, the petitioner had filed a 482 petition seeking the quashing of the chargesheet and criminal proceedings, which was dismissed.When the matter was taken, CJI denounced the practice of registering criminal cases over civil disputes. "Filing a criminal case for civil wrongs is unacceptable," he said. The CJI further pulled up the state counsel and said, "You pay the cost of Rs.50,000 and recover it from the officers." Previously, the bench extended the stay on the criminal trial by 3 weeks.Last week, in another case, CJI had expressed displeasure at the recurrent instances of civil disputes being turned into criminal cases by the Uttar Pradesh Police and termed it a 'complete breakdown of the Rule of Law'. He also warned that costs may be imposed on the State of UP if such a practice continued.In the said case, the Court also directed the Director General of Police, UP, to file an affidavit on the steps taken to comply with the directions of the Court in Sharif Ahmed v. State of Uttar Pradesh, where the Court held it mandatory for the Investigating Officer to ensure that the chargesheet contains clear and complete entries.Case Details : RIKHAB BIRANI vs THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH| SLP(Crl) No. 008592 - / 2024 Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 438Click here to read the order

Supreme Court Imposes Costs On UP Police For Filing FIR Over Civil Dispute

Anmol Kaur Bawa

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