Mohammad Jamal Dar And Others vs Mst. Raji Begum

Puneet Gupta, J

Petitioners-accused seek quashment of Criminal complaint filed by the respondent-complainant before the court of learned Special Mobile Magistrate, Kralpora-Kupwara on the ground that the complaint filed by the respondent-complainant is false, frivolous and is outcome of the civil dispute between the parties. It is also submitted that the cognizance taken and issuance of process is the misuse of powers by the Trial court.

The respondent has appeared and filed her reply to the petition wherein the respondent has justified the filing of the complaint and cognizance taken by the Trial court. The sum and substance of the stand of respondent is that she the owner of the property where the alleged occurrence has taken place.

The respondent has filed the complaint against the petitioners with an averment that petitioners have committed theft of popular trees from the land measuring 1 Kanal 16 Marlas falling under Khasra No. 384 of which the respondent is absolute owner in possession. The cognizance has been taken under Section 379 RPC.

Perusal of the record shows that the petitioner No. 1 has filed a suit in December, 2015 before the court of learned Munsiff-Kupwara with regard to the land measuring 1 Kanal 16 Marlas, falling under Khasra No. 384 situated in village Panzagam, Kupwra. The court has directed the maintenance of Status-quo with regard to the subject matter of the suit property. The respondent is one of the defendants in the said suit which is still pending adjudication in the said court. The said piece of land is stated to have been given to the petitioners by the husband of respondent, who happens to be the brother of petitioner No. 1, by way of a relinquishment deed before his death.

The court is to lift the veil of the criminal cause pleaded in the complaint and see if it intended to involve the other party as a retaliatory measure through such proceeding. The Court at the same time to caution itself and not get swayed by mere institution of the criminal proceeding and truncate the same merely on the ground that parties are involved in criminal litigation as the same can result into miscarriage of justice for the complainant. Criminal case instituted as a ply to harass and drag the party in long drawn criminal litigation will amount to abuse of process of law.

Admittedly, the parties are litigating for a pretty long period in different revenue forums also as is evident from material placed on record and so is the case set-up by the rival parties. The pendency of the civil proceedings is not to bring the criminal proceedings to halt as a matter of course unless circumstances convince the court that criminal proceedings are just a camouflage to engage the adversary in criminal case in addition to the civil disputes in which the parties had engaged themselves earlier and still litigating. It may be noticed that the respondent has filed the complaint against 8 family members of Mohammad Jamal Dar, who also claims his right over the land. The petitioner No. 2-7 are the sons and daughters of petitioner No. 1 and the petitioner No. 8 is wife of petitioner No. 1-accused in the complaint quashment of which is sought for in the petition.

It appears that the complaint is just a counter blast to the suit filed by the plaintiff/petitioner-Mohammad Jamal Dar. The illegal act, is stated to have committed by the petitioners/plaintiffs after one and half years of filing of the suit on the land which is subject matter of the complaint and could have been brought to the notice of the court, where suit was pending, alleging violation of interim order of status-quo passed in the civil suit. The frame of the complaint itself brings out the frivolity of accusation against the accused who are eight in number. The complaint is sketchy. The complaint of such nature is required to be stumped.

Reliance can be placed on the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court rendered in 2023 live law (SC) 67. In this Judgment it was observed, “that the issue involved, which is of civil nature, the respondent had already approached the jurisdictional civil court by instituting a civil suit and it is pending, there can be no doubt with respect to the fact that the attempt on the part of the respondent is to use the criminal proceedings as weapon of harassment against the appellants. The indisputable facts that the respondent has filed the pending title suit in the year 2015, he got no case that he obtained an interim relief against his removal from the office of Secretary of the School Managing Committee as also the trusteeship, that he filed the stated application for an order for investigation only in April, 2017 together with absence of a case that despite such removal he got a right to get informed of the affairs of the school and also the trust, would only support the said conclusion. For all these reasons, we are of the considered view that this case invites invocation of the power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to quash the FIR registered based on the direction of the Magistrate Court in the afore-stated application and all further proceeding in pursuance thereof. Also, we have no hesitation to hold that permitting continuance of the criminal proceedings against the appellants in the aforesaid circumstances would result in abuse of the process of Court and also in miscarriage of justice”

The complaint is in a way offshoot of the civil litigation between the parties and filed only with a view to harass the petitioners. The criminal complaint filed by the respondent against the petitioners is undoubtedly abuse of process of law and its continuance will result into gross miscarriage of justice.

For the forgoing reasons, this Court is of the view that the complaint filed by the respondent before the Special Mobile Magistrate, Kralpora-Kupwara and proceedings initiated in pursuance to its filing require to be quashed.

Accordingly, the complaint titled Mst. Raji Vs. Mohd Jamal Dar & Ors and consequently the order of cognizance dated 02.05.2017, stand quashed.

Disposed of along with all connected CM(s).