Karnataka HC Refuses To Quash FIR Against 7 In Property Dispute, Directs Same Officer To Probe Rival Complaint If Still Posted

Respondent No. 2 lodged a complaint on 15 May 2024, leading to registration of Crime No. 164/2024 at Nandini Layout Police Station for alleged offences under Sections 149, 447, 323, 354, 506 and 504 of the IPC; investigation was ongoing when the petition was considered.

The petitioners sought to quash that FIR, contending that the dispute was civil, that a civil suit concerning the property was pending, and that respondent No. 2’s complaint was a counterblast to their earlier complaint, which had resulted in Crime No. 162/2024.

The earlier complaint concerned an alleged incident on 11 May 2024, while respondent No. 2 alleged an incident on 14 May 2024; the earlier crime had been charge-sheeted and was pending trial.

The petition invoked the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (stated in the petition as filed under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) to seek quashing of the FIR.

The Court applied the principles that the pendency of a civil dispute does not, by itself, justify disregarding allegations of criminal conduct or quashing criminal proceedings, and that the timing of a complaint alone does not establish that it is a counterblast.

The Court made no reference to any precedent.

The Court noted that both complaints arose from the parties’ dispute concerning the same property, but related to alleged incidents on different dates.

The pending civil suit did not resolve whether the alleged assault, abuse, intimidation and trespass had occurred, and the earlier complaint’s prior registration did not establish that respondent No. 2’s complaint was inherently false.

Because those factual allegations could not be conclusively determined in the quashing proceedings, the Court considered that the investigation in Crime No. 164/2024 should proceed in accordance with law.

It directed that the officer who investigated Crime No. 162/2024 should investigate Crime No. 164/2024, if still posted at the station; otherwise, the competent authority should assign another appropriate officer. The investigation must be independent, objective and in accordance with law, without being influenced by the Court’s observations.