‘Breakdown Of Rule Of Law’: SC Pulls Up UP Cops For Converting Civil Suits Into Criminal Cases
The Supreme Court pulled up the UP Police for their frequent petitions seeking to covert the civil suits into criminal cases.
The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh Police over frequent petitions to convert civil cases into criminal ones and said that the pleas are wrong and depict a “complete breakdown of rule of law".
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna warned that the court would impose costs on the police if similar petitions are filed in the future.
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The case pertains to a money-related issue. The police had filed a chargesheet, asking for the civil case to be converted to a criminal one. The person who filed the petition claimed that the police took bribes to turn the civil case into a criminal case.
Supreme Court Slams UP Police
The top court stayed the criminal prosecution in the case and also asked UP Police Director General of Police (DGP) Prashant Kumar and the investigating officer to file a response in two weeks.
“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. I will ask the IO to come to the witness box. Let the IO stand in the witness box and make out the case of crime. We direct it, let him learn his lesson, this is not the way you file chargesheets. It’s strange that it’s happening day in and day out in UP, lawyers have forgotten there is civil jurisdiction also," the CJI remarked, as per LiveLaw.
“We are passing it over, but now any case that comes up now (in UP) we will impose costs on the Police. Let them (UP Police DGP and IO) file the affidavit. This is complete breakdown of the rule of law," the court added.
This isn’t the first time the Chief Justice has raised concerns about civil cases being turned into criminal ones. In December 2024, he said this was happening a lot in some states. He also pointed out that turning civil matters into criminal cases puts extra pressure on the courts, even though such issues can be handled under civil law.
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