HCs Must Quash Case When Civil Dispute Is Given Criminal Colour: SC

The Supreme Court of India, on March 12, reiterated that High Courts must exercise its power of quashing when a civil dispute is given a cloak of a criminal offence.

Bench comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhukia and Justice Prasanna B Varale heard an appeal against judgment of Karnataka High Court wherein the Court had dismissed the plea under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The appellants submitted that the issue was primarily a civil dispute and had no criminal element and the entire criminal proceedings initiated against the appellants was nothing but an abuse of the process.

The Apex Court said that the dispute between the parties is primarily civil in nature.

"It is after all a question of how many bicycles the complainant had assembled and the dispute between the parties is only regarding the figure of bicycles and consequently of the amount liable to be paid," the Court observed.

The Court further said that the complainant had not been able to establish that the intention to cheat the complainant was there with the appellants right from the beginning.

The Court further said that, "Merely because the appellants admit that only 28,995 bicycles were assembled, but they have admittedly paid an amount of Rs. 62,01,746/- to the complainant, which is of a much higher number of bicycles, would not prove that the intention of the appellants right from the beginning was to cheat."

The plea was allowed and the case was quashed.