Civil and criminal law are two fundamental branches of law. The essential difference between these two is that while civil law aims at resolving disputes between two contending parties and providing relief to an aggrieved one, in the form of compensation, criminal law focuses on retribution more than resolving the conflict.
When a civil case is arbitrarily converted into a criminal one, it not only fails the purpose of this demarcation but also fails the idea of justice as fairness. This tendency recently prompted the Supreme Court to question the Uttar Pradesh Police, who have often turned civil cases into criminal cases.
While hearing a plea to quash an FIR registered against a petitioner accused of criminal breach of trust, criminal intimidation, and criminal conspiracy in a cheque dishonour case, the apex court expressed its displeasure at this increasing trend, calling it a 'complete breakdown of the Rule of Law’.
An old habit
It is not the first time that SC was compelled to make such an observation. In the year 2000, in a case titled 'G. Sagar Suri And Anr vs the State Of UP. And Ors', the apex court, said, “It is to be seen if a matter, which is essentially of civil nature, has been given a cloak of criminal offence. Criminal proceedings are not a shortcut of other remedies available in law. Before the issuing process, a criminal court has to exercise a great deal of caution. For the accused, it is a serious matter. This Court has laid certain principles on the basis of which the High Court is to exercise its jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code. Jurisdiction under this Section has to be exercised to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice.”
Unambiguous chargesheets are a pre-requisite
In May 2024, in a case titled ’Sharif Ahmed and Others vs State of Uttar Pradesh’, the bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti of the Supreme Court had cautioned the investigating agencies and officers to make sure that chargesheets filed by them must have clear information.
In December 2024, SC expressed its concern over what it termed as the 'wrong and rampant practice' of converting civil disputes into criminal cases in several states. The court hearing a plea seeking the quashing of charges under different sections of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) where the petitioner was accused of “foul play” in the transfer of a sale deed.
In 2016 in a case titled 'Ajit Singh vs State Of Punjab', the Punjab and Haryana High Court raised the same issue. It observed: “Having regard to the circumstances narrated and explained above, we are also of the view that an attempt is made by the respondent to convert a case with a civil nature into criminal prosecution. In a case like this, the High Court would have been justified in quashing the proceedings in the exercise of its inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code.”
The court referred to an important judgment titled 'Indian Oil Corpn. v. NEPC India Ltd. and others', wherein the SC had adversely commented upon this very tendency of filing criminal complaints even in cases relating to commercial transactions for which civil remedy is available or has been availed.
Misusing criminal provisions to solve commercial disputes
In 2006, in a case titled M/S Indian Oil Corporation vs M/S Nepc India Ltd, SC made observations highlighting the same problem. It said that while on this issue, it is necessary to take notice of a growing tendency in business circles to convert purely civil disputes into criminal cases. This is obviously on account of a prevalent impression that civil law remedies are time-consuming and do not adequately protect the interests of lenders/creditors. Such a tendency is seen in several family disputes also, leading to irretrievable breakdown of marriages/families. There is also an impression that if a person could somehow be entangled in a criminal prosecution, there is a likelihood of imminent settlement. Any effort to settle civil disputes and claims, which do not involve any criminal offence, by applying pressure through criminal prosecution should be deprecated and discouraged.
In the same judgment, the apex court said that while no one with a legitimate cause or grievance should be prevented from seeking remedies available in criminal law, a complainant who initiates or persists with a prosecution, being fully aware that the criminal proceedings are unwarranted and his remedy lies only in civil law, should himself be made accountable, at the end of such misconceived criminal proceedings, in accordance with the law.
The Court observed: “One positive step that can be taken by the courts, to curb unnecessary prosecutions and harassment of innocent parties, is to exercise their power under section 250 CrPC more frequently, where they discern malice or frivolousness or ulterior motives on the part of the complainant.”
It’s all about justice
In the last three decades on several occasions, the High Courts and SC had cautioned the investigating agencies against the temptation of converting cases of a purely civil nature into criminal as criminal cases as it takes less time for resolution. Apart from this, in many instances, it is purely done to intimidate and legally ‘persecute’ the alleged ‘wrongdoers’.
An investigation agency needs to understand that the law does not aim at unjust retribution whether by punishing a wrongdoer or compensating a victim. It aims at justice. And arbitrarily converting civil cases into criminal ones neither serves the purpose of law nor justice.
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