On Wednesday, the top court imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 on two police officers involved in the case and made it clear that civil matters should not be treated as criminal offences.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India has strongly criticised the Uttar Pradesh Police for wrongly registering a criminal case in a property dispute that was purely civil in nature.
On Wednesday, the top court imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 on two police officers involved in the case and made it clear that civil matters should not be treated as criminal offences.
The case came before a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, which observed that such practices are against many past court rulings.
“Filing a criminal case for civil wrongs is unacceptable,” said the bench firmly, rejecting the police officials’ request to waive the fine.
The court further ordered:
“You pay the cost of Rs. 50,000 and recover it from the officers.”
The Chief Justice also highlighted a major concern, stating that the Supreme Court was flooded with petitions challenging FIRs registered in similar civil cases, and such actions were completely improper.
The Chief Justice did not hold back in his remarks. During the hearing, he stated:
“This is wrong, what is happening in UP. Everyday civil suits are being converted to criminal cases.”
He stressed that not paying money in a civil matter cannot automatically be treated as a criminal offence:
“It’s absurd, merely not giving money cannot be turned into an offence.”
Justice Khanna even proposed holding the investigating officer accountable for misusing the law:
“I will ask the Investigation Officer (IO) to come to the witness box. Let the IO stand in the witness box and make out the case of crime.”
“We direct it, let him learn his lesson, this is not the way you file chargesheets.”
He further added:
“It is strange, this is happening day in and day out in Uttar Pradesh.”
In a sharp remark about the legal system in the state, the Chief Justice said:
“Lawyers in Uttar Pradesh have forgotten about the civil jurisdiction.”
This is not the first time the Chief Justice has raised concerns over this practice. Back in December last year, he had pointed out that this trend of wrongly converting civil cases into criminal matters was becoming “rampant” in some states.
BRIEF FACTS:
The case involved Rikhab Birani and Sadhna Birani, residents of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. An FIR was filed against them by the local police even though two different pleas for criminal prosecution had already been rejected by a local magistrate. These pleas were filed by Shilpi Gupta, who had earlier entered into an oral agreement with the Biranis to buy a warehouse for Rs. 1.35 crore.
As per the agreement, Gupta had to pay 25% of the amount as advance by September 15, 2020, but she only paid Rs.19 lakh and failed to pay the rest. Later, the Biranis sold the property to another party for a lower price of Rs.90 lakh. However, they also did not return the Rs. 19 lakh paid by Gupta.
Feeling cheated, Gupta approached the criminal court twice asking for an FIR to be lodged. But both times, the local magistrate rejected her plea, clearly stating that the issue was civil in nature, not criminal.
Despite this, the Uttar Pradesh police went ahead and filed an FIR against the Biranis, including charges such as cheating and criminal intimidation. The two were then summoned by the trial court.
Later, the Biranis approached the Allahabad High Court seeking to quash the FIR. However, the High Court refused to cancel the case and directed them to face trial.
They then challenged this decision in the Supreme Court, which took a strong stand and not only pulled up the police but also issued a reminder about the importance of upholding the rule of law.
Earlier, while hearing a similar case, CJI Sanjiv Khanna had remarked:
“There is a complete breakdown of rule of law in Uttar Pradesh. Converting a civil matter into a criminal case is not acceptable.”
At that time, the Supreme Court had also directed the Director General of UP Police to submit an affidavit on the matter.
With this recent ruling, the apex court once again made it clear that civil disputes should be handled through proper civil legal channels, and criminal law should not be misused for personal vendetta or pressure.
Case Title: DEBU SINGH AND ANR. Versus THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANR.| SLP(Crl) No. 3620/2025
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