SC fines UP cops ₹50k for turning civil dispute into criminal case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday fined two Uttar Pradesh police officials Rs 50,000 for filing an FIR in a civil property dispute, citing the practice as a "violation of a plethora of judgements" amid a surge in similar petitions.

“Filing a criminal case for civil wrongs is unacceptable,” said a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar and refused to waive off the fine imposed on errant police officials.

The bench added, “You pay the cost of Rs 50,000 and recover it from the officers."

The CJI recorded the facts of the case and said an FIR was lodged against Rikhab Birani and Sadhna Birani, who hail from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, in the case. While dealing with a similar case, the CJI had said previously, “There is a complete breakdown of rule of law in Uttar Pradesh. Converting a civil matter into a criminal case is not acceptable.” The director general of the state police was then directed to file an affidavit in the particular case.

In this case, the bench observed that the state police filed an FIR despite a local magisterial court rejecting two separate pleas by Shilpi Gupta, who sought criminal prosecution against the Biranis. The records revealed that the Biranis had orally agreed to sell their warehouse in Kanpur to Gupta for ₹1.35 crore. However, Gupta only paid ₹19 lakh as part of the sale consideration and failed to provide the agreed 25% advance by the deadline of September 15, 2020.

The Biranis later sold the warehouse to a third party for ₹90 lakh but did not refund the ₹19 lakh paid by Gupta, who twice failed to convince a criminal court to order an FIR. Despite the local court deeming the matter civil in nature, the police filed an FIR against the Biranis for cheating and criminal intimidation, leading to their summons by the court.

The Allahabad High Court refused to quash the FIR and asked them to face the trial.

The order was then challenged in the top court.

(inputs from PTI)