Supreme Court Raises Alarm Over Civil to Criminal Case Conversions

The Supreme Court expressed significant concern about the growing trend of turning civil disputes into criminal cases. A bench highlighted this issue while hearing a petition related to a property sale deed dispute, emphasizing the resultant strain on the judicial system and the distortion of criminal law's purpose.

The Supreme Court on Monday expressed grave concerns regarding the rampant transformation of civil disputes into criminal cases, urging for stringent steps to mitigate this practice.

The observations were made by a bench that included Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar during proceedings on a petition asking for quashing of criminal charges in a property sale deed misconduct case.

The court called such conversions a wrongful practice that is widespread in certain states and contributes to the overburdening of the judiciary with matters that should be civil litigations.

(With inputs from agencies.)