Family members sought quashing of FIR and Magistrate's reference order in a dispute over ancestral family property where the defacto complainant had also filed a civil partition suit. The High Court held the dispute was purely civil in nature and quashed the FIR in Crime No.16/2023 and the proceedings before the VIII ACMM.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
NC: 2024:KHC:15166 CRL.P No. 2365 of 2023 C/W CRL.P No. 2917 of 2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 16TH DAY OF APRIL, 2024
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY
CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 2365 OF 2023
C/W
CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 2917 OF 2023
IN CRL.P NO.2365/2023
BETWEEN:
SRI. SRINIVAS D @ SRINIVAS DANDA S/O. DR. D. SATYANARAYANA, AGED ABOUT 56 YEARS, OCC: JOINT SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, ADD. MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS, 11TH FLOOR, PT. DEENDAYAL ANTYODAYA BHAWAN, CGO COMPLEX, LODHI ROAD, NEW DELHI - 110 003.
…PETITIONER
Digitally signed by V KRISHNA Location: High Court of Karnataka
(BY SRI. DALWAI VENKATESH, ADVOCATE)
AND:
OCC: RETIRED, ADD. NO. 104, RAHEJA GARDANIA, NO. 38, MILLERS ROAD, BENGALURU - 560 046.
…RESPONDENTS
(BY SRI. R. RANGASWAMY, HCGP FOR R1; SRI. BRIJESH KALAPPA, ADVOCATE FOR R2)
THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S 482 OF CR.PC PRAYING TO SET ASIDE ORDER DATED 31.01.2023 PASSED BY THE LEARNED 8TH ACMM BANGALORE IN PCR NO.417/2023 PRODUCED AT ANNEXURE A AND CONSEQUENTIAL REGISTRATION OF THE FIR BY THE RESPONDENT NO.1 IN CRIME NO.0016/2023 BY J.C. NAGAR P.S. FOR THE OFFENCES P/U/S 506, 120B, 384, 420, 447, 448, 465, 471 AND 426 OF IPC PRODUCED AT ANNEXURE B.
IN CRL.P NO.2917/2023 BETWEEN:
HYDERABAD - 500 033, TELANGANA.
…PETITIONERS
(BY SRI. CHANDRASHEKAR REDDY K.P., ADVOCATE)
AND:
REPTD. BY STATE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT BUILDINGS, BENGALURU - 560 001.
…RESPONDENTS
(BY SRI. R. RANGASWAMY, HCGP FOR R1; R2 SERVED, UNREPRESENTED)
THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S.482 OF CR.P.C PRAYING TO QUASH THE REGISTRATION OF FIR BY 1ST RESPONDENT POLICE IN CR.NO.16/2023 FOR THE OFFENCE P/U/S 384, 420, 447, 448, 465, 468, 471, 426, 120B AND 506 OF IPC VIDE ANNEXURE-A AND SUBSEQUENTLY QUASH THE REGISTRATION OF PCR.NO.417/2023 AND ORDER DATED 31.01.2023 ON THE FILE OF VIII ADDL.C.M.M., BENGALURU IN PCR.NO.417/2023 VIDE ANNEXURE-B AND C AND FURTHER QUASH THE POLICE NOTICE DATED 22.02.2023, ISSUED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT, TO THE PETITIONERS VIDE ANNEXURE-D AND E AND FURTHER QUASH THE ENTIRE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE PETITIONER NO.1 AND 2.
THESE PETITIONS, COMING ON FOR ADMISSION, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
ORDER
Accused Nos.1 to 3 in crime No.16/2023 registered
by J.C. Nagar police station, Bengaluru for the offences punishable under sections 506, 120B, 384, 420, 447, 448, 465, 468, 471, 426 of IPC arising out of P.C.R.No.417/2023 pending before the Court of VIII ACMM, Bengaluru are before this Court with a prayer to set aside the order dated 13.01.2023 passed by the learned Magistrate and also to quash FIR in Crime No.16/2023 registered by J.C. Nagar police station, Bengaluru.
P.C.R.No.417/2023 before the Court of VIII ACMM, Bengaluru and learned Magistrate by order dated 13.01.2023 had referred the said complaint to the jurisdictional Police, who in turn had registered FIR in
NC: 2024:KHC:15166 CRL.P No. 2365 of 2023 C/W CRL.P No. 2917 of 2023
Crime No.16/2023 for the aforesaid offences against the petitioners herein and 20 others. The petitioners are arrayed as accused nos.1 to 3 in the FIR. Crl.P.No.2365/2023 is filed by accused no.3, who is the brother of accused No.2 defacto complainant and Crl.P.No.2917/2023 is filed by accused Nos.1 and 2 who
are the parents of respondent no.2 and accused No.3.
offences do not get attracted against the petitioners. Respondent No.2-defacto complainant prior to filling the private complaint had approached the police alleging that he was denied share in the ancestral property. However, the police had refused to entertain the complaint since the dispute was civil in nature. He submits that learned Magistrate without appreciating the contents of private complaint has mechanically referred the complaint under section 156(3) of Cr.P.C, which has now resulted in registration of criminal case as against the petitioners. Accordingly, he prays to allow the petition.
petition.
No.2 in the complaint appears to be that he has denied his rightful share in the ancestral property of the family. He has alleged in the complaint that he has got a reasonable suspicion that accused Nos.1 and 2 have purchased properties in their names from the rental income and sale proceedings of ancestral property without his knowledge. He has referred to various sale transactions in his private complaint and his allegations are that sale proceedings derived from the aforesaid transactions have been utilized by accused persons for purchasing property in their names.
facie get attracted against the petitioners, who are family members of respondent No.2. Respondent No.2 has already filed a suit in O.S.No.224/2023 before the jurisdiction civil Court at Hyderabad as against the petitioners and other accused, seeking decree of partition and separate possession of the ancestral property and also properties subsequently purchased by accused persons which according to respondent No.2 is from the rental income and sale proceedings of ancestral property. Respondent No.2 who has already initiated civil proceedings with regard to his grievance which is made in the private complaint cannot be permitted to parallelly continue criminal proceedings on the very same grievance. Under the circumstances, I am of the opinion that the impugned proceedings as against the petitioners is required to be quashed.
8. Accordingly, the petitions are allowed .
The entire proceedings in crime No.16/2023 registered by J.C. Nagar police station, Bengaluru for the
NC: 2024:KHC:15166 CRL.P No. 2365 of 2023 C/W CRL.P No. 2917 of 2023
offences punishable under sections 506, 120B, 384, 420, 447, 448, 465, 468, 471, 426 of IPC and the order dated
13.01.2023 passed in P.C.R.No.417/2023 pending before
the Court of VIII ACMM, Bengaluru are hereby quashed .
Sd/JUDGE
NMS
1 issue framed by the court
Whether criminal proceedings arising from a private complaint over denial of share in ancestral property, already subject to a civil partition suit, should be quashed as a civil dispute given criminal
2 provisions across 2 enactments
Srinivas D @ Srinivas Danda
Dr. D. Satyanarayana
Mrs. D. Neerada
State of Karnataka by J.C. Nagar PS
D.V. Prasad
S Vishwajith Shetty
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
