Pending Suits Over the Same Land Prompt Karnataka HC To Quash Four Criminal Cases Between Rival Claimants

The connected petitions arose from competing complaints between two groups of parties over alleged interference with possession of land at Chikkayagati village. The complaints concerned incidents in 2021 and 2024 and led to criminal proceedings under the IPC and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The parties referred to an earlier suit, O.S. No. 38/1988, and a pending suit, O.S. No. 188/2020, concerning the same property and the parties’ rights and possession.

Each group sought to quash the criminal proceedings arising from the other group’s complaints.

The petitions invoked the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and/or Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, as reflected in the petitions’ captions.

The Court’s stated basis for relief was that, where the criminal complaints arose from a property dispute and civil proceedings concerning the same property and possession were pending, continuing the prosecutions before determination of those civil issues would not serve the interests of justice.

The order cites no precedent and does not set out a separate test for quashing.

The Court considered that the complaints on both sides alleged interference with possession of the same disputed property, and that the parties’ competing claims were already the subject of civil proceedings.

Because the civil court was to determine the parties’ rights, the status of the property and possession, the Court concluded that continuing the related criminal prosecutions would serve no purpose until that determination was made. It also noted that counsel had advised their respective clients to await the outcome of the civil proceedings.