Ashok HarswardhanversusThe State of Bihar

          IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                  CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.86110 of 2023
      Arising out of PS. Case No.-466 Year-2023 Thana- MITHANPURA District- Muzaffarpur
     ======================================================
     Ashok Harswardhan S/o Late Akhilwashwar Prasad Narayan Singh Mohalla-
     G.P. Das Lane, New Dak Banglow Road, Patna Also At Club Road, Mohalla-
     Mithanpura, Ps. Mithanpura, Dist. Muzaffarpura At Present Residing At A-
     28, Neeti Bagh, Sahpurjat, Defence Colony, P.S. Defence Colony, Dist. South
     Delhi, Delhi.

                                                                     ... ... Petitioner/s
                                          Versus
1.   The State of Bihar
2.   Ramvinod Sharma, S/o Late Mauze Mishra, R/o Village- Silout, Vashudev,
     Ps. Maniyari, Dist. Muzaffarpur

                                            ... ... Opposite Party/s
     ======================================================
     Appearance :
     For the Petitioner/s     :      Mr. Rajesh Ranjan, Advocate
     For the Opposite Party/s :      Dr. Indiwar Kumari, APP
     ======================================================
     CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANSUL
                     ORAL JUDGMENT
      Date : 13-05-2026

                  Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned

     Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.

                  2. Petitioner seeks quashing of the FIR of Mithanpura

     P.S. Case No. 466 of 2023 registered under Sections 420, 406, 467,

     468, 469/34 of the Indian Penal Code pending before the Chief

     Judicial Magistrate, Muzaffarpur.

                  3. The allegation is that the petitioner duped Rs.

     11,50,000/- from the Opposite Party No. 2 on the assurance of

     transfer of the land in question. It is further alleged that Rs.

     23,50,000/- in cash was given to co-accused Dhristdhumna

     Shukla. Thereafter, in the year 2017 two sale deeds were executed
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by the petitioner for the land admeasuring about five decimals.

One sale deed was executed in the name of Opposite Party No. 2

and another was in his wife’s favour.

          4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the

Opposite Party No. 2 deposited amount of Rs. 11,50,000/- as

advance and promised to pay rest amount after the registration of

the sale deed, thereafter, the petitioner executed two registered sale

deeds in favour of the Opposite Party No. 2 and his wife.

Thereafter, differences cropped up between them as the Opposite

Party No. 2 began to demand registration of more valuable land.

He further submits that from bare perusal of the allegation as

alleged in the FIR, it would manifest that the allegation is vague,

cryptic and does not inspire confidence. It is also submitted by

learned counsel for the petitioner that from perusal of allegation as

alleged in the FIR it would manifest that the O.P. No. 2 does not

even remotely suggest that as to what was the area of the land

which was agreed in between him and the petitioner for being

purchased. It is also submitted that in order to make out a false

case, the O.P. No.2 alleges that he paid and father of the petitioner

never sold the land in question to anyone else earlier. It is next

submitted that had the father of the petitioner sold the land to

someone else in that event the O.P. No.2 would have disclosed the
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name of that person in the FIR, hence, it is submitted at the cost of

repetition that the allegations are vague, cryptic and do not inspire

confidence.

             5. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State has

vehemently opposed the quashing of the FIR.

             6. The matter is purely a civil dispute for which remedy

lies in a Civil Court in view of the decision of Hon’ble Supreme

Court rendered in the case of Mohd. Ibrahim v. State of Bihar

reported in (2009) 8 SCC 751. The relevant paragraph No. 8 reads

as under:-

                           “8. This Court has time and again
                drawn attention to the growing tendency of
                the complainants attempting to give the cloak
                of a criminal offence to matters which are
                essentially and purely civil in nature,
                obviously either to apply pressure on the
                accused, or out of enmity towards the
                accused, or to subject the accused to
                harassment. Criminal courts should ensure
                that proceedings before it are not used for
                settling scores or to pressurise parties to
                settle civil disputes. But at the same time, it
                should be noted that several disputes of a
                civil nature may also contain the ingredients
                of criminal offences and if so, will have to be
                tried as criminal offences, even if they also
                amount to civil disputes.

             7. Hon’ble the Supreme Court has reiterated the same

principle rendered in the case of Indian Oil Corpn. v. NEPC
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India Ltd. reported in (2006) 6 SCC 73. The relevant paragraph

No. 13 reads as under:-

                       “13. 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.

                       “It is to be seen if a matter, which is
            essentially of a civil nature, has been given a
            cloak of criminal offence. Criminal proceedings
            are not a short cut of other remedies available
            in law. Before 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.”

          8. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances of

the case as well as the judicial pronouncements of Hon’ble

Supreme Court, the FIR of Mithanpura P.S. Case No. 466 of 2023

registered under Sections 420, 406, 467, 468, 469/34 of the Indian
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                    Penal Code pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate,

                    Muzaffarpur is quashed so far as the petitioner is concerned.

                              7. Accordingly, the present application stands allowed.



                                                    (Ansul, J)
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