When Civil Wrongs Wear Criminal Robes: Supreme Court Quashes Two-Decade-Old Case from Basti.
31 July 2025
Criminal Appeals & Suspension of Sentence >> Criminal Law | Sale Deed >> Personal Law | Will's, Codicil's & Agreements >> Personal Law
The Supreme Court has once again in Urmila Devi & Others v/s Balram & Another upheld the sanctity of Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 by quashing criminal proceedings which, in fact, were initiated out of a long-standing civil inheritance litigation. The judgment is a timely reminder that criminal law cannot be turned into a weapon of coercion or vengeance where there are available civil remedies.
The Genesis of the Dispute:
The matter concerned the estate of Shri Ram Baksh Dubey, who had created an unregistered will in December 1993, leaving behind his properties to his four daughters-in-law. His action was motivated by fear over his third son's irresponsible nature. When the son still executed a sale deed of his alleged share in 1994, it led to almost three decades of litigation — traversing various forums, from revenue officials to civil courts, and ultimately ending up with the Supreme Court.
A Criminal Dispute Disguised as Civil Wrongs:
The complainant had charged the accused legatees — the daughters-in-law — with having conspired to forge the will post the death of the testator in order to evade the sale deed. But the chronology itself spoke against this. Mutation in accordance with the will had already been done legally, objections by the complainant had been turned down, and civil proceedings had already commenced. The tardy criminal complaint under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468 and 471 IPC consequently exhibited clear signs of mala fide intention.
Supreme Court's Analytical Lens:
In its careful analysis, the Court drew upon the ratio decidendi enunciated in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal and Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia v. Sambhajirao Angre to consider whether continuation of criminal prosecution had any honest purpose. It noted that the record did not reveal any act of forgery, cheating, or dishonest inducement. The legatees were the beneficiaries under an unchallenged will for years — making allegations of forgery unlikely per se.
Drawing on the underpinning rationale of Section 482 Cr.P.C., the Court reiterated that the inherent jurisdiction shields persons from harassment by prosecutions. When criminal proceedings are openly marred with mala fides or amount to instruments of private vendetta, intercession by judicial hands becomes not only justified but unavoidable.
A Judicial Shield against Abuse:
This judgment expands the jurisprudence built up under R.K. Vijayasarathy v. Sudha Seetharam and Anand Kumar Mohatta v. State (NCT of Delhi) — again asserting that disputes of purely civil nature should not be disguised as criminal actions. The Supreme Court observed that such prosecutions being pursued overwhelm the justice system and are against the goal of criminal law.
Conclusion:
The ruling is a warning against converting disputes over property into criminal wars. For lawyers, it reminds them that Section 482 Cr.P.C. is a sword of equity, not an instrument of convenience. Judges should be careful to make sure that litigation still remains a quest for justice, rather than a game of revenge.
Section 482., Code of Criminal Procedure - 1973
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973