After Scuffle Amid Pending Property Suit, Karnataka HC Quashes Cross-Cases As Both Sides Agree To Pursue Civil Case

Criminal Petition No. 9316 of 2026 sought to quash the complaint and FIR No. 0156/2026, registered for offences under Sections 126(2), 352, 115(2), 118(1), 351(2), read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).

Criminal Petition No. 14411 of 2026 sought to quash the charge sheet in C.C. No. 910/2026, arising from Crime No. 154/2026, for offences under Sections 126(2), 115(2), 118(2), 351(2), 352, read with Section 3(5) of the BNS.

The Court noted that a civil suit concerning immovable property was pending between the parties and that the alleged scuffle occurred against that background.

The parties submitted that they did not wish to pursue criminal proceedings against each other and would pursue their dispute in the Civil Court; they also submitted that the injuries were minor and had not resulted in hospital admission or physical disability.

The petitions invoked the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, as applicable through Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, to seek quashing of criminal proceedings.

The alleged offences were under the specified provisions of the BNS.

The judgment cited no precedent and did not set out a detailed legal test; it considered the circumstances of the incident, the parties’ submissions, the pending civil dispute, and the nature of the injuries in deciding whether to quash the proceedings.

The Court considered that the alleged scuffle arose against the backdrop of a pending property dispute and that both sides stated they did not intend to prosecute the criminal cases, preferring to pursue their grievances in the Civil Court.

It also took account of the submissions that the injuries were minor, with no inpatient hospitalisation or physical disability.

In those circumstances, the Court concluded that the proceedings should be quashed.