Punjab and Haryana High Court questions FIR in civil disputes

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, June 19

The “serious issue” of the police lodging FIRs in cases of civil litigation has come under judicial scanner, with the Punjab and Haryana High Court directing the Gurugram Commissioner of Police to look into one such matter. Justice Alok Jain also directed the Commissioner to file an affidavit.

The directions came as Justice Alok Jain summoned the investigating officer during a hearing in a petition filed against Haryana and other respondents by Raj Rishi Pandey through counsel Harsh Chopra. Appearing before the Bench, he submitted that “the present petition raises a serious issue as to how the police authorities are lodging FIRs in matters which are purely in the realm of civil litigation.”

Chopra submitted that the short issue involved in the present case revolved around the sale of a car to the petitioner for Rs 22.50 lakh in May 2022. Of the total, he paid Rs 12 lakh. The balance was to be paid by Diwali that year.

The petitioner returned the car following failure to make the payment. The vehicle was now admittedly in the complainant-seller’s possession. The complainant filed a civil suit for the recovery of the balance amount and also lodged an FIR.

“The matter, being absolutely contractual and civil in nature, has been given a criminal colour only to pressurise the petitioner to succumb to the demands of respondent complainant-seller. The present FIR is an apparent abuse of the process of law and criminal proceedings,” he said, placing reliance on a Supreme Court judgment, which said a mere breach of contract by one of the parties would not attract prosecution for criminal offence in every case.