Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 1: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed an FIR lodged against an 85-year-old man and his two sons, observing that the complaint was a product of a family property feud and amounted to giving a criminal colour to a purely civil dispute.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Rajesh Sekhri in a petition filed under Section 482 CrPC by Nanak Chand and others, seeking quashing of FIR No. 0208/2022 registered at Police Station Nowshera for offences under Sections 457, 382, 354, 427, 323 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The FIR was filed by the complainant, who is Nanak Chand’s daughter-in-law, alleging that during the intervening night of September 4-5, 2022, the petitioners broke into her house, assaulted her, tore her clothes, outraged her modesty and stole gold and cash.
The petitioners, however, argued that the allegations were false and motivated by a long-standing property dispute. They pointed out that Nanak Chand had executed a power of attorney and a will deed in 2018 in favour of his eldest son (complainant’s husband), allegedly by misrepresentation.
Both documents were later cancelled and Nanak Chand executed a deed of disinheritance against his son. Since then, multiple litigations had been filed, including under the Domestic Violence Act and property-related civil suits.
The complainant and her husband had allegedly tried to forcibly take possession of Nanak Chand’s house, leading to cross-FIRs between the parties.
Justice Sekhri, after examining the case, noted, “allegations that an 85-year-old father-in-law, along with his sons, assaulted and outraged the modesty of the complainant in broad daylight were absurd and inherently improbable”.
“Witnesses examined during investigation did not corroborate the claims of theft or outraging modesty. The dispute stemmed from property-related grievances and the FIR was filed with an ulterior motive to wreak vengeance after the complainant’s husband was disinherited”, the court said.
Quoting the landmark Bhajan Lal case (1992) and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Salib @ Shalu @ Salim Vs State of UP (2023), the judge observed that courts must prevent civil disputes from being camouflaged and given a criminal texture with a veiled object of persecution rather than prosecution.
“The case on hand is an unfortunate family feud… it is manifest that a pure civil dispute is sought to be camouflaged and given a criminal texture. The allegations are actuated with malice in fact and law,” Justice Sekhri held. Accordingly, the court quashed FIR No. 0208/2022 and allowed the petition, disposing of all connected applications.
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