SMT. M V MYTHILI vs THE STATE OF KARNATAKA
- Court
- Karnataka High Court
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
R
ST
DATED THIS THE 21 DAY OF JULY, 2026
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA
CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 76 OF 2026
BETWEEN:
1. SMT. M.V. MYTHILI
WIFE OF SRI. VASANTHA RANGAN,
AGED ABOUT 73 YEARS,
PRESENTLY RESIDING AT NO. 31,
1ST CROSS, RMS COLONY, II STAGE,
NEAR BANK OF INDIA, SANJAYNAGAR,
BENGALURU - 560 094.
2. SMT. M. V. SMITHA,
W/O SRI. H.S.V RAMPRIYA
AGED ABOUT 50 YEARS,
RESIDING AT NO. 120, 1ST MAIN,
5TH CROSS, SOUNDRAYA LAYOUT
SIDEDAHALLI, NAGASANDRA,
BENGALURU - 560 073.
…PETITIONERS
Digitally
signed by
PADMAVATHI
B K
Location:
High Court of
Karnataka
(BY SRI. THEJASWINI G, ADVOCATE)
AND:
1.
THE STATE OF KARNATAKA
BY SANJAY NAGAR PS,
REPRESENTED BY STATE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,
HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA,
OPPOSITE TO VIDHANA SOUDHA,
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AMBEDKAR VEEDHI,
BENGALURU - 560 001.
2. SMT. M. V. SHRUTHI,
WIFE OF SRI. SHRIRAM. C. K.,
AGED ABOUT 48 YEARS,
NOW RESIDING AT 18,
HOLLAND HILL, 11-22 PARVIS,
SINGAPORE - 279746,
PHONE NO. +65-94520756/+91-86187 78908,
INDIAN ADDRESS AS IN OS. 5900/2024.
NO. 504, 13TH CROSS, ISRO LAYOUT,
KUMARASWAMY LAYOUT,
BENGALURU - 560 078.
…RESPONDENTS
(BY SMT. WAHEEDA M.M, HCGP FOR R1;
SRI. D.V. SENTHIL KUMAR, ADVOCATE FOR R2)
THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S 482 OF CR.P.C (U/S 528 BNSS)
PRAYING TO QUASH THE ALLEGED FIR IN CR.NO.182/2025
WHICH IS REGISTERED BY THE RESPONDENT NO.1 IN SANJAY
NAGAR P.S., BENGALURU, FOR THE OFFENCES P/U/S 3(5),
318(4), 336(3) OF BNS, 2023, PENDING ON THE FILE OF
HONBLE VIII ACJM COURT, AT BENGALURU.
THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ADMISSION, THIS DAY,
ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER:
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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA
ORAL ORDER
The petitioners who are accused Nos.1 and 2 are before
the Court calling in question the registration of a crime in Crime
No.182 of 2025 registered by the daughter of the first
petitioner and the sister of the second petitioner.
2. Heard Smt. Thejaswini G., learned counsel
appearing for the petitioners; Smt. Waheeda M.M., learned
High Court Government Pleader appearing for respondent No.1
and Sri. A.V. Senthil Kumar, learned counsel appearing for
respondent No.2.
3. The facts adumbrated are as follows:
3.1. The petitioner No.1 is the widow of one late
Vasantha Rangan, who departed this world in the year 2015,
leaving behind his wife, two daughters, and an estate
comprising immovable properties, fixed deposits and other
valuable assets. Petitioner No.2 is the elder daughter, while
respondent No.2 is the younger daughter. In the ordinary
course of succession, the widow, by operation of law, stepped
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into the shoes of her deceased husband in respect of the estate
left behind, save and except to the extent of any testamentary
disposition, of which none is forthcoming.
3.2. Several years thereafter, the tranquility that
ordinarily follows the demise of a family patriarch appears to
have given way to a bitter contest over inheritance. The second
respondent, one of the daughters of the first petitioner, who
has long since made Singapore her matrimonial home and
continues to reside there, is alleged to have discovered the
execution of certain documents concerning the estate of the
deceased. Acting from abroad, she lodged a complaint on
22.10.2025 with the jurisdictional police, alleging fraudulent
transactions, forgery and an unauthorised mutation of the
khatha in favour of the mother in respect of properties that
once stood in the name of the deceased father. The complaint,
transmitted from the shores of Singapore, immediately set the
criminal law into motion, whereupon notices came to be issued
to the petitioners.
3.3. What assumes considerable significance is the
chronology of events. Long before the criminal complaint was
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conceived, the complainant herself had invoked the jurisdiction
of the competent Civil Court by instituting O.S. No.5900 of
2024, seeking partition and separate possession of what she
asserted to be her lawful share in the very same estate. Thus,
the dispute had already entered the exclusive province of the
Civil Court. Yet, on the very same set of facts, founded upon
the very same grievance, the complainant elected to unleash
the coercive apparatus of criminal law. The institution of
criminal proceedings, therefore, runs parallel to the pending
civil action, both springing from an identical cause and directed
towards the very same subject matter. It is this registration of
the crime that has driven the aged mother and her elder
daughter to the doors of this Court seeking the exercise of its
extraordinary jurisdiction.
3.4. This Court, at the threshold, deemed it appropriate
to interdict further proceedings by granting an interim order of
stay, which continues to operate even as on date. The second
respondent has, however, sought vacation of the interim
protection, necessitating a fuller consideration of the rival
submissions.
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SUBMISSIONS:
PETITIONERS:
4. The learned counsel appearing for the
petitioners/the mother and the elder daughter would contend
that the complainant sitting in Singapore is wanting to influence
the Police here and has created complete harassment or left
the mother in the lurch. At every stage, she has been harassed
and has taken this Court through the photographs of certain
people stalking the house or the Police interfering with the
possession of the mother, notwithstanding the fact that she is
73 years old and insofar as the petitioner No.2 is concerned,
the learned counsel would submit that she has nothing to do
with the allegations, as she is married and resides elsewhere.
Therefore, for the sake of property, which the mother was
entitled to in law, the daughter has created serious problems to
the mother and would therefore, submit that if this is permitted
to be continued, it would become an abuse of the process of
the law.
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RESPONDENTS:
5. Per contra , the learned counsel appearing for
respondent No.2 would submit that the present petition is
premature, as the investigation is still at a nascent stage and
no prejudice would be caused to the petitioners if the
investigation is permitted to continue. It is contended that
petitioner No.1 sold the property in dispute without obtaining
the consent of respondent No.2, despite respondent No.2 being
entitled to a share in it. At the relevant point in time,
respondent No.2 was residing in Singapore and was not present
in India. Taking advantage of her absence, petitioner No.1
impersonated respondent No.2 and forged her signature for the
purpose of effecting the transaction. The respondent No.2 has
been financially supporting petitioner No.1, her mother, since
the year 2018. The learned counsel would further submit that
petitioner Nos.1 and 2 fabricated the document by forging the
signature of respondent No.2 with the sole object of depriving
her of the assets to which she was lawfully entitled. According
to respondent No.2, it was only after the suit for partition was
instituted that she came to know that the disputed property
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had been transferred in favour of petitioner No.1 on the
strength of a document which the petitioners claim had been
executed and sent by respondent No.2. On this score, the
learned counsel for the respondent No.2 would seek for
dismissal of this petition and prays that the allegations of
fabrication of the document and forgery of respondent No.2's
signature must be thoroughly investigated.
6. The learned High Court Government Pleader
appearing for the respondent No.1 would toe the lines of the
learned counsel for the respondent No.2 and submits that, if
this Court would permit investigation they would investigate
into the matter and file their final report, as the case would be.
7. I have given my anxious consideration to the
submissions made by the respective learned counsel and have
perused the material on record.
CONSIDERATION:
8. The foundational facts are neither disputed nor
capable of serious controversy, for they stand embedded in the
record itself. The first petitioner is now a septuagenarian
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widow; the second petitioner is her elder daughter. The
complainant is none other than the younger daughter of the
first petitioner and the sister of the second petitioner. The
lis
genesis of the present lies not in any act of
criminality, but in a family dispute over inheritance . Upon
the demise of Vasantha Rangan on 07.03.2015, the estate
comprising the residential property, fixed deposits, jewellery
and other assets devolved upon his legal heirs. It is this estate
that has become the apple of discord. The complainant,
residing in Singapore and having chosen not to reside in this
country for several years, first invoked the jurisdiction of the
Civil Court by instituting O.S.No.5900 of 2024. The relief
sought therein leaves no room for ambiguity - it is a
comprehensive suit for partition and separate possession,
seeking one-third share in the immovable property, fixed
deposits, bank accounts, sale proceeds, postal savings and
ancestral jewellery left behind by the deceased. The prayer in
the suit is as follows:
"WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff humbly prays to this Hon'ble
Court to pass a judgment and decree against the
Defendants and pass the following reliefs:
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1. For partition of Schedule "A" Property by
metes and bounds by allotting 1/3rd share in
the Suit Schedule "A" Property to Plaintiff
and put the Plaintiff separate possession of
rd
her 1/3 Share in the Schedule "A" property.
2. For partition of Schedule "B" Properties by
rd
allotting 1/3 share in the all the Items
specified in Schedule "B" properties to the
Plaintiff and put the Plaintiff in separate
possession of her 1/3rd share in all items
specified in Schedule "B" Properties.
3. For costs and such other reliefs as this Honorable
Court may deem fit in the circumstances of this
case in the interest of justice and equity."
(Emphasis added)
The suit is for partition. The properties sought for division in
the partition suit are as follows:
" SCHEDULE
SCHEDULE "A" PROPERTY
All that piece and parcel of the property bearing No. 31,
BBMP Katha no. 100-734-31, Situated at RMS Pvt
Layout, 1st Cross, RMS Colony, Sanjay Nagar, RMV
Extension, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru-94 measuring East to
West: 45 feet, and North to South: 30 feet, in all
measuring 1350 Square Feet,
East by : Property bearing site no. 46;
West by : 40 feet Road;
North by : Property bearing site no.30;
South by : Property bearing site no. 32;
SCHEDULE "B" PROPERTY
MOVEABLES
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ITEM NO. 1:
Sale Consideration of Rs. 21,18,600/- (Rupees Twenty-
One Lakhs Eighteen Thousand Six Hundred Only)
received by the Defendant No. 1 on 19th June 2024
which is paid by way of RTGS drawn on State Bank of
India,RPC Layout Branch, Bengaluru by selling her 1/5th
Share in the piece and parcel of the property bearing
Site No. 1162, New No. 87, PID No. 53-135-87, situated
at Banashankari 1st Phase, 2nd Block, Bengaluru,
measuring East to West 30+46/2 feet and North to
South 27 feet, with a total measurement of 1126 square
feet.
ITEM NO. 2:
Sale Consideration of Rs. 4,80,000/- (Rupees Four Lakas
Only) received by the Defendant No. 1 on 20th June
2024 for selling her 1/5th Share in house holdings items
and fixtures situated at all that the piece and parcel of
the property bearing Site No. 1162, New No. 87, PID No.
53-135-87, situated at Banashankari 1st Phase, 2nd
Block, Bengaluru, measuring East to West 30+46/2 feet
and North to South 27 feet, with a total measurement of
1126 square feet.
ITEM NO. 3:
All the Fixed Deposits held by Late Shri. Vasantharangan
during his life time and at the time of his death the total
Maturity value of all Fixed Deposits was Rs.
1,10,33,199/- (Rupees One Crore Ten Lakhs Thirty-
Three Thousand One Hundred and Ninety-Nine Only).
Particulars of the Fixed Deposits possessed by Late Shri.
Vasantharangan are mentioned below:
BANK NAME DATE OF
OPENING
FD
ACCOUNT
DATE OF FD MATURITY
MATURITY VALUE OF
FD
KVB- 14-09-2015 14-12-2016 1,67,041
Basavangudi
Branch
18-09-2015 18-12-2016 8,45,822
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Ashok Nagar Co-
Operative Bank-
Banashankari
1st stage-
Branch,
31-10-2015 31-01-2019 10,50,000
25-02-2016 25-02-2017 16,31,959
30-12-2014 30-12-2019 23,695
23-12-2013 23-12-2018 1,59,911
23-10-2014 23-12-2019 1,57,970
Karnataka Bank
-Basavangudi
Branch
26-02-2013 26-02-2018 1,59,911
21-12-2015 21-01-2020 13,96,855
06-01-2016 06-02-2020 2,99,384
29-08-2012 29-08-2017 2,50,013
12-10-2014 07-07-2017 16,00,035
04-10-2012 04-10-2017 50,001
07-02-2014 28-07-2017 2,00,031
29-08-2012 29-08-2017 5,00,010
24-08-2012 24-08-2017 2,50,013
24-08-2012 24-08-2017 5,00,010
04-10-2012 04-10-2017 50,001
05-06-2012 05-06-2017 50,001
29-08-2012 29-08-2017 5,00,010
05-06-2012 05-06-2017 50,001
29-08-2012 29-08-2017 2,50,013
National Co-
operative Bank-
Gandhi Bazaar
Branch,
29-08-2012 29-08-2017 5,00,010
29-08-2014
29-11-2026
1,56,201
Sree Thyagaraja
Co-Operative
Bank - NR
Colony Branch
29-08-2014
29-11-2016
1,56,201
29-08-2014
29-11-2016
78,100
Total Value of
in Rs
1,10,33,199
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ITEM NO. 4:
Details of current Fixed Deposits Accounts held by
Defendant No.1 and these deposits are recurringly Re-
invested by Defendant No.1 after the death of her
husband. The current Maturity value of all Fixed Deposits
is Rs. 150,43,898/- (Rupees One Crore Fifty Lakhs Forty-
Three Thousand and Eight hundred and Ninety-Eight
Only).
Financial
Institution
/Bank
F.D Account Deposit Deposit Maturity Maturity
Number Date Amount Amount Date
13569 11-10-2022 9,00,000 9,00,000 11-01-2025
Ashoknagar
Co-
operative
Bank
849345110013437 03-01-2023 15,00,000 17,31,809 03-01-2025
Bank of
India
1429905 18-11-2023 1,40,000 1,53,706 04-02-2025
Canara
Bank
857709 31-12-2022 20,00,000 22,90,487 27-10-2024
Canara
Bank
08238200004459 11-01-2023 5,00,000 5,89,862 11-01-2025
DCB Bank
08238200004879 13-02-2023 5,00,000 5,89,862 13-02-2025
DCB Bank
08238200004886 13-02-2023 5,00,000 5,89,862 13-02-2025
DCB Bank
DCB Bank 08238200004664 31-01-2023 5,00,000 5,89,862 31-01-2025
DCB Bank 08238200004442 11-01-2023 5,00,000 5,89,862 11-01-2025
Equitas 300006016296 09-01-2023 5,00,000 5,89,862 15-06-2025
Equitas 300006498141 14-03-2023 4,00,000 4,00,000 18-08-2025
300002345908 15-03-2023 6,05,565 7,46,650 19-08-2025
Equtias
578353 19-10-2022 2,18,533 2,45,016 26-04-2024
Karnataka
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Bank
578354 19-10-2022 23,95,904 26,86,254 26-04-2024
Karnataka
Bank
578355 19-10-2022 2,04,687 2,29,492 26-04-2024
Karnataka
Bank
N729271 12-09-2023 2,64,596 2,91,313 29-11-2024
Karur Vysya
Bank
N729272 12-09-2023 13,39,723 14,74,982 29-11-2024
Karur Vysya
Bank
0032963 28-11-2023 2,66,988 2,96,587 28-02-2025
Sree
Thyagaraja
Co-
operative
Bank Ltd.
0032961 02-01-2024 1,33,493 1,48,292 28-02-2025
Sree
Thyagaraja
Co-
operative
Bank Ltd.
1,33,69,489 1,50,43,898
Total Value in Rs.
ITEM NO. 5:
Savings bank account held by the Defendant No. 1 in
State Bank of India and the balance of said account is
approximately Rs. 20,00,000/- (Rupees Twenty Lakhs
Only). The account details of the said Savings Account
not known to the Plaintiff and there is no means and
ways to get the said account details.
ITEM NO. 6:
Postal Savings Scheme Account held by the Defendant
No. 1 which has value of approximately Rs. 50,00,000/-
(Rupees Fifty Lakhs Only). The account details of the
said Postal Savings Scheme is not known to the Plaintiff
and there is no means and ways to get the account
details of the postal saving scheme.
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ITEM NO. 7:
Ancestral gold ornaments items weighing a total of 600
grams an its valuation based on the present market
value is around Rs 44,00,000/(Rupees Forty-Four Lakhs
Only). Particulars of the gold ornaments are mentioned
below:
Items Quantities
a) Mangalya Gold Chain 01
b) Neck Chain 04
c) Necklace 02
d) Hand Chain 01
e) Gold Bangles 07
f) Finger Rings 06
g) Ear Rings (Jumkis) 04
ADVOCATE FOR PLAINTIFF PLAINTIFF
BENGALURU
DATE: 17/08/2024
VERIFICATION
I, M. V Shruthi, the Plaintiff herein do hereby declare
that what is stated above in paragraph nos. 1 to 30 are
true and correct to the best of my knowledge,
information, and belief."
(Emphasis added)
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The plaint itself demonstrates that the controversy is one
concerning devolution of property and accounting of assets left
by the deceased. Schedule 'A' enumerates the residential house
sought to be partitioned, while Schedule 'B' painstakingly
catalogues every conceivable movable asset - from sale
proceeds of ancestral properties to fixed deposits, bank
accounts, postal savings and even gold ornaments allegedly
weighing nearly six hundred grams. The relief sought is
quintessentially civil in character, inviting adjudication
upon questions of succession, inheritance, title and
entitlement. These are matters which have, for
centuries, lain within the exclusive province of Civil
Courts. Indeed, the suit remains pending adjudication
before the competent Court.
9. Against this backdrop, the simultaneous invocation
of criminal jurisdiction on the very same factual foundation
assumes considerable significance. What is essentially a dispute
over inheritance appears to have been clothed in the garb of
criminality. The criminal process cannot be permitted to
become a surrogate for civil remedies, nor can it be
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employed as an instrument of pressure to secure an
advantage in a pending partition suit. Criminal law exists
to punish offences against society; it is not designed to
tilt the scales in private disputes over family property.
When the gravamen of the dispute unmistakably lies in the
realm of civil rights, the criminal justice system must remain
insulated from being deployed as a weapon of familial coercion.
10. The institution of the civil suit is followed, almost as
if by design, by the registration of the impugned crime. The
timing is too striking to escape judicial notice. What had
already entered the portals of the competent Civil Court as a
dispute concerning succession and partition is suddenly sought
to be transformed into a criminal offence.
11. The gravamen of the accusation is that, upon the
demise of her husband, the petitioner, the widow and mother of
the complainant, had the khatha of the property transferred to
her own name. Prima facie , the act is one that the law itself
would recognize as neither extraordinary nor inherently
unlawful. A widow succeeding to the estate of her deceased
husband and securing mutation of municipal records in her
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favour is but a consequence flowing from law and not an act
inviting criminal sanction.
12. After the institution of the suit comes the impugned
crime. The crime is registered on the score that the mother has
taken khatha in her name on the death of her husband. It is
obvious in law that she would be entitled to. Nonetheless, the
unauthorised transfer of khatha is projected to become a crime
by registering one on 23.10.2025. The complaint reads as
follows:
"To,
The Circle Inspector,
Sanjaynagar Police Station,
Bengaluru - 560094.
Subject: Complaint regarding fraudulent documents,
forged signature, and unauthorized transfer of Pouthi
Khata and other illegal activities.
Respected Sir/Madam,
I, Shruthi M.V., wife of Shriram C. K., aged 48 years, am
a citizen of India and have been a permanent resident of
Singapore since December 2009.
The property bearing EPID No. 8375690014,
situated at 31, RMS Colony, 1st Cross,
Sanjaynagar, Bengaluru - 560094, was in the name
of my late father. After his demise on 07 March
2015, my mother, Smt. Mythili M.V. (Phone: +91-
9886496760) and my sister Smt Smitha MV
(Phone: +91-7348931605), submitted documents
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to the BBMP office and got the Pouthi Khata
transferred to my Mothers name.
For this Pouthi Khata transfer, an affidavit
allegedly bearing my signature was submitted to
the Assistant Revenue Officer (ARO), BBMP.
However, I have never executed or signed any
such affidavit. The signature appearing on the said
document is completely forged. This can be clearly
verified by comparing it with my signature in my
passport.
As per the records, the Pouthi Khata transfer date is 05
January 2016. At that time, I was residing in Singapore.
I am enclosing a copy of my passport as proof, showing
my India entry and exit dates as follows:
- 03 March 2015 to 10 March 2015
- 08 April 2016 to 18 April 2016
Hence, it is evident that I was not in India on 05 January
2016.
Accordingly, my mother, Smt. Mythili M.V. and my
sister, Smt Smitha M.V., have used forged
documents and a falsified signature to transfer the
Pouthi Khata of the said property into my mothers
name.
Further, I have already filed a civil suit against my
mother, Smt. Mythili M.V., and my sister, Smitha
M.V., before the Bengaluru Civil Court under O.S.
No. 5900/2024. The said case pertains to the
unauthorized transfer of my late father's property
and the denial of my rightful share, as described
below:
1. My mother has transferred my late father's fixed
deposits held in banks (amounting to around 2.65Crores)
and post offices to her own name and has made my
sister the nominee. Thereby cheating me.
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2. She has also sold my grandmother's (father's
mother's) ancestral property in June 2024, without
informing me or giving me my due share.
Additionally, since my mother and sister are attempting
to sell the above-mentioned property (EPID
8375690014, 31 RMS Colony, 1st Cross, Sanjaynagar), I
wrote the O.S. case number on the compound wall of the
said property on 22 September 2025. However, the
writing was erased on 25 September 2025. I am
enclosing photographic evidence of the same.
Therefore, considering all the above evidence, I humbly
request you to conduct a thorough investigation and take
appropriate legal action against Smt. Mythili M.V. and
Smitha M. V. for preparing forged documents, using a
falsified signature, fraudulently transferring the Pouthi
Khata, and engaging in other illegal activities."
(Emphasis added)
The lodging of the complaint marks not the commencement of
a criminal investigation alone, but, according to the petitioner,
the beginning of relentless persecution. The seventy-three year
old mother, alleges that strangers resembling hired musclemen
frequented her residence, that repeated visits by the police
instilled fear rather than confidence, and that the machinery of
criminal law had become an instrument of intimidation rather
than protection. Distressed by what she perceived to be an
orchestrated campaign of harassment, she approached the
Commissioner of Police on the very same day, narrating a tale
of fear, coercion and abuse of authority. Her complaint paints a
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picture of an elderly widow living alone, besieged by threats
emanating not merely from familial discord but, according to
her, from the active involvement of police personnel and
unknown persons acting at the behest of the complainant. The
tenor of her representation leaves little room for doubt that she
apprehended not merely litigation but an imminent threat to
her life and dignity. The complaint addressed to the
Commissioner reads thus:
"From, Date:23/10/2025
Smt. M. V. Mythil, By Hand,
wife of Late Sri. Vasantha Rangan.
aged 72 years,
residing at 31, 1st Cross,
RMS Colony, Near Bank of India,
nd
Sanjaynagar, R.M.V. Extension, 2 Stage,
Bengaluru -560 094.
Mobile No. 98864 96760.
To,
The Police Commissioner,
No. 2, Ali Aske4r Road,
Vasanth Nagar,
Bengaluru 560 001.
Respected Madam/Sir,
Subject: 1) Sanjaynagar Police Inspector,
(Name unknown) trespassed my
house without any notice, and
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threatened me of dire
consequences.
2) My daughter Smt. Shruthi,
(having Singapore Phone Number
+65 94520756) along with her
husband Sri. Shriram CK (having
Singapore Phone Number +65
92362816) both residing at
No.18, Holland Hill, 11-22 Parvis,
Singapore 278746, and having
Bengaluru address at No. 504,
13th Cross, ISRO Layout,
Bengaluru -560078, and other 4
Gunda people trespassing my
house without any notice and
threaten me.
3) Unknown 4 Gundas came in 2
wheelers, trespassed my house by
writing case number on my
compound wall without court
order.
Sir, I the above named is living alone in the above
address since 2016.
Briefly, I would like to bring to your kind notice the
following incident.
1) My husband Late Sri. Vasantha Rangan, died
intestate, living behind me and our 2 daughters
1) Smt. Smitha and 2) Smt. Shruthi as his legal
hairs.
2) The house which I am residing belongs to my
husband and now I am the Khatha holder of this
property.
3) My elder daughter Smt. Smitha living happily at
her matrimonial house with her husband and
children at No.120, 1 main, 5th Cross, Soundarya
Layout, Bengaluru - 560073
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4) My younger daughter Smt. Sruthi is residing at her
Matrimonial House with her husband Shriram C K,
and her Children at No.18, Holland Hill, 11-22
Parvis, Singapore-278746.
5) My younger daughter has filed a partition suit in
O.S. No. 5900/2024, in the Court of Hon'ble
XXXVIII AddI., City Civil and Session Judge,
Bangalore, CCH 36, against me and my elder
daughter claiming the present house, my gold
jewellery and FD (Fixed Deposit) money of my
husband. Attached Screenshots case details taken
Annexure No. 1
from the ecourt app, as
6) In concern to the property she is constantly
harassing and threatening me and my elder
daughter Smt. Smitha, over phone calls.
7) My younger daughter Smt. Shruthi, many
time threaten me over the phone of kick me
out of the house. She keeps calling me and
abuse me with filthy langue and harasses me
mentally, her behaviour is making me metal
disturb, my health is detouring day by day.
Many time she has threaten me of pensioning
me and kill me if I don't give the property to
her. I'am living my life with a fear. As the
partition suit is running I didn't initiate any
legal actions against her, as she was staying
in Singapore and I thought I am safe.
8) On October 22, 2025, I was shocked with the
incident at around 02:30pm, I saw some 4
unknown people who looked like Gundas
came near my house trespassed and wrote
case number on my house compound without
court notice. When I enquired them they
replied that my younger daughter Smt Shruti
as instructed them to write this on the House
Compound and have given money for it and
they also told me that she has instructed
them to kick me out of the house if I object
them to write the O.S Number on the
Compound. They also made fearful face on
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me and left my place. I have taken photos in
my mobile and have attached here as
Annexure No. 2
. As I was alone I didn't know
what to do.
9) Yesterday i.e., 22/10/2025 at around 6pm in
the evening, my younger daughter along with
her husband, a lady dressed up with a Police
uniform and intruding herself as a police
inspector, Sanjaynagar, Bengaluru, and 4
other unknown people who looks like Gundas
came inside my compound and threatened
me.
10) When I enquired the police why she has
come near my place she shouted at me to go
inside, and if I stay there she shall initiate
criminal case on me. I took so courage and
somehow was able to take pictures of them.
Herewith I am attaching all the photographs
Annexure No. 3.
taken from my mobile as
11) Yesterday I tried calling Human Rights
helpline and Senior Citizen Helpline, where I
could not get connected to it.
Sir, in this old age, I am leading my life with fear. I
have a threat to my life from the Police Inspector
(name unknown), Sanjaynagar, Bengaluru, my
younger daughter Smt. Shruthi, her husband Sri.
Shriram C K, and 7 to 8 unknown persons who
looks like Gundas.
My Police Station Jurisdiction, are Sanjaynagar
Police Station, Bengaluru, and this Police station,
Police Inspector is already colliding with my
younger daughter Smt. Shruthi and her husband
Sri. Shriram C K and other 7 to 8 Gundas, So I can't
go and file my complaint, and my grievance there
and ask protection, from them.
So with no other alternative I am filing this complaint, I
hereby request you to kindly initiate an investigation and
take strict criminal action against the Police Inspector
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(name unknown), Sanjaynagar, Bengaluru, my younger
daughter Smt. Shruthi, her husband Sri. Shriram, and 7
to 8 unknown persons who looks like Gundas.
I request urgent attention and action on this matter to
prevent further - life threatening harassment, mental
traumas and agony which is detouring my health from
the above people.
Thanking you in anticipation."
(Emphasis added)
The narrative does not end there. The family discord appears
only to have intensified. The petitioner asserts that the
complainant continued to engage with the police, resulting in
further commotion in the vicinity of her residence. Left with no
immediate succour, the petitioner turned to the Elders Helpline
1090 maintained under the aegis of the Bengaluru City Police
and the Nightingales Medical Trust, seeking intervention and
protection befitting a senior citizen living in isolation. Her
complaint was duly acknowledged and assigned a reference
number. The call recording reads as follows:
" ELDERS HELPLINE 1090
(A joint project of Bangalore City Police and Nightingale's
Medical Trust)
Office of the Commissioner of Police
Command center ground Floor
#01 Ali asker road, Bangalore-560001
Ph.080-23352833/8095001090/9243737230
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Dear Sir/Madam Date:23/10/2025
We have received a Written Complaint from Mr. /
Ms. M.V. Mythili and your reference number is
WC:6779 kindly quote this number in all future
correspondence / call .
Thanking You."
(Emphasis added)
Even thereafter, the petitioner did not remain idle. She
approached the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission,
placing before it photographs and supporting material to
demonstrate the manner in which she claimed to have been
harassed. Yet, despite these repeated cries for intervention, no
meaningful action appears to have been initiated on her
grievances. The investigative zeal of the police remained
singularly directed towards the complaint of the second
respondent. This, in the considered view of the Court, ought
never to have culminated in the registration of a criminal case
in the first place.
13. The entire controversy, shorn of embellishments, is
unmistakably rooted in a dispute over inheritance and partition
- a domain where the civil law reigns supreme. The suit in
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O.S.No.5900 of 2024 was already pending before the
competent Civil Court, wherein the parties were seeking
adjudication of their respective proprietary rights. Once the
dispute had entered the exclusive province of the civil forum,
the intervention of the police by setting the criminal law in
motion amounted to an unwarranted intrusion into what is
essentially a private familial dispute. Criminal law cannot be
permitted to become a weapon in aid of civil claims or a
lever to secure bargaining power in a pending partition
suit .
14. If the second respondent believes herself entitled to
a share in the estate of her late father, the law has already
provided her with the appropriate avenue, and she has, in fact,
invoked it by instituting O.S.No.5900 of 2024. That remedy
must run its course. What cannot receive the imprimatur of
this Court is an attempt to compel an aged mother and
an elder sister to yield to such claims by invoking the
coercive machinery of criminal law. Courts cannot permit
the majesty of criminal jurisprudence to be reduced to
an instrument of pressure in aid of civil remedies . The
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facts of the case, at least prima facie , present a compelling
foundation for the petitioner to contemplate proceedings
for malicious prosecution against her own daughter, who
appears to have enlisted the assistance of the police to
subject her seventy-three year old mother to avoidable
criminal prosecution over a dispute that is manifestly
civil in complexion. Whether such proceedings are to be
instituted is a matter resting entirely within the mother’s
(petitioner No.1) discretion. Suffice it to observe that the
continuance of the present criminal proceedings,
founded as they are upon a dispute already pending
before the Civil Court, would constitute nothing but an
abuse of the process of law and cannot be permitted to
survive even for a fleeting moment .
15. For the aforesaid reasons, the following:
ORDER
(i) Criminal petition is allowed .
(ii) The investigation in crime No.182 of 2025
pending on the file of VIII Additional Chief
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Judicial Magistrate Court at Bengaluru, qua
the petitioners, stands quashed.
Sd/-
(M.NAGAPRASANNA)
JUDGE
JY
List No.: 2 Sl No.: 6