Priyanka Tiwari
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The Supreme Court of India on Monday issued a stern warning to the Uttar Pradesh Police, condemning the repeated filing of chargesheets aimed at converting civil disputes into criminal cases. The bench, led by Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna, described such actions as a “complete breakdown of the rule of law.”
Chargesheet Filed in Financial Case Triggers Judicial Rebuke
The remarks came during the hearing of a financial dispute case, where the UP Police had submitted a chargesheet to criminalize what was fundamentally a civil matter. The petitioner alleged that police officers had accepted bribes to escalate the nature of the case.
In response, the apex court stayed the criminal prosecution and directed UP DGP Prashant Kumar and the investigating officer (IO) to file affidavits within two weeks.
CJI’s Remarks: "Let the IO Stand in the Witness Box"
Expressing his frustration, the CJI said:
“This is wrong what is happening in UP. Every day civil suits are being converted to criminal cases. It’s absurd. Merely not giving money cannot be turned into an offence. Let the IO stand in the witness box and explain the crime. This is not how chargesheets should be filed.”
He added that such misuse of criminal law was becoming a routine issue in UP, and that lawyers were forgetting the distinction between civil and criminal jurisdictions.
Warning: Costs Will Be Imposed in Future Cases
The bench issued a clear warning that future cases of this nature would attract financial penalties on the police. The court emphasized:
“Let the DGP and IO file affidavits. This is a complete breakdown of the rule of law. We will impose costs if such petitions are filed again.”
Pattern Highlighted Since December 2024
This is not the first time the Supreme Court has flagged the misuse of criminal provisions. In December 2024, the CJI had raised concerns about the rising trend of civil cases being criminalized in certain states, noting that such practices burden the judiciary unnecessarily.
