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Patna High Court
Syed Ahsan Majeed vs The State Of Bihar on 15 May, 2026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.70226 of 2022
Arising out of PS. Case No.-37 Year-2021 Thana- KHAJEKALA District- Patna
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1. Syed Ahsan Majeed, Son of Late Syed Mohammad Majeed R/o Majeed
Compound, Bagh, Kalu Khan, P.S- Khajekalan, Dist- Patna
2. Farhat Ahsan Wife of Syed Ahsan Majeed R/o Majeed Compound, Bagh,
Kalu Khan, P.S- Khajekalan, Dist- Patna
3. Syed Hussain Majeed Son of Syed Hasan Majeed R/o Majeed Compound,
Bagh, Kalu Khan, P.S- Khajekalan, Dist- Patna
4. Shahina Parween @ Syeda Shahina Majeed Wife of Syed Hussain Majeed
R/o Majeed Compound, Bagh, Kalu Khan, P.S- Khajekalan, Dist- Patna
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
1. The State of Bihar
2. Syed Hassan Majeed Son of Late Syed Mohammad Majeed R/o Majeed
Compound, Bagh, Kalu Khan, P.S- Khajekalan, Dist- Patna
... ... Opposite Party/s
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Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Patanjali Rishi, Adv.
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Shantanu Kumar, APP
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANSUL
ORAL JUDGMENT
Date : 15-05-2026
Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned
Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.
2. Petitioners seek quashing of the order of cognizance
dated 21.02.2022 passed by learned Sub Divisional Judicial
Magistrate, Patna City, Patna in connection with Khajekalan P.S.
Case No. 37 of 2021 (G.R No. 452 of 2021) registered for the
offences punishable under Sections 341, 323, 504, 506, 379, 447,
448, 34 of the IPC.
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3. The petitioner No. 3 is son of the Opposite Party No.
2, Informant. Petitioner No. 4 is the wife of the petitioner No. 3.
Father has lodged a case against his son that they entered into his
house and assaulted him and snatched away watch from the hand
of his son Syed Faisal Majeed. They also forced them to sign a
number of documents and stated that though partition has not
taken place but they are selling land to someone else. The
Petitioner No. 1 has lodged a formal FIR being Khajekalan P.S.
Case No. 37 of 2021 dated 03.02.2021. Moreover, Petitioner No. 2
has filed suit No. 01 of 2015 against his father seeking partition
which is pending. The petitioner No. 3 is a practicing Advocate of
this Court and he has been implicated along with his wife
Petitioner No. 4. He has even admitted of having taken recourse to
under Section 144 Cr.P.C vide Case No. 869 of 2020 and the
dispute is well within the family and it is also a subject matter.
This clearly shows that dispute is essentially civil in nature which
has been admitted to be settled through criminal prosecution.
4. This matter is purely a civil dispute for which remedy
lies in a Civil Court in view of the decision of Hon'ble Supreme
Court in the case of Mohd. Ibrahim v. State of Bihar reported in
(2009) 8 SCC 751. The relevant paragraph No. 8 reads as under:-
"8. This Court has time and again drawn
attention to the growing tendency of the
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complainants attempting to give the cloak of a
criminal offence to matters which are essentially
and purely civil in nature, obviously either to apply
pressure on the accused, or out of enmity towards
the accused, or to subject the accused to
harassment. Criminal courts should ensure that
proceedings before it are not used for settling scores
or to pressurise parties to settle civil disputes. But
at the same time, it should be noted that several
disputes of a civil nature may also contain the
ingredients of criminal offences and if so, will have
to be tried as criminal offences, even if they also
amount to civil disputes."
5. Hon'ble the Supreme Court has reiterated the same
principle in the case of Indian Oil Corpn. v. NEPC India Ltd.
reported in (2006) 6 SCC 736. The relevant paragraph No. 13
reads as under:-
"13. While on this issue, it is
necessary to take notice of a growing
tendency in business circles to convert purely
civil disputes into criminal cases. This is
obviously on account of a prevalent
impression that civil law remedies are time
consuming and do not adequately protect the
interests of lenders/creditors. Such a
tendency is seen in several family disputes
also, leading to irretrievable breakdown of
marriages/families. There is also an
impression that if a person could somehow be
entangled in a criminal prosecution, there is
a likelihood of imminent settlement. Any
effort to settle civil disputes and claims,
which do not involve any criminal offence, by
applying pressure through criminal
prosecution should be deprecated and
discouraged.
"It is to be seen if a matter, which
is essentially of a civil nature, has been given
a cloak of criminal offence. Criminal
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proceedings are not a short cut of other
remedies available in law. Before issuing
process a criminal court has to exercise a
great deal of caution. For the accused it is a
serious matter. This Court has laid certain
principles on the basis of which the High
Court is to exercise its jurisdiction under
Section 482 of the Code. Jurisdiction under
this section has to be exercised to prevent
abuse of the process of any court or
otherwise to secure the ends of justice."
6. In view of such, the order of cognizance dated
21.02.2022
passed by learned Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate,
Patna City, Patna in connection with Khajekalan P.S. Case No. 37
SPONSORED
of 2021 (G.R No. 452 of 2021) registered for the offences
punishable under Sections 341, 323, 504, 506, 379, 447, 448, 34 of
the IPC is quashed.
7. Accordingly, the present application stands allowed.
(Ansul, J)
Vikash/-
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