$~64 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI # CNR No. DLHC010095742024 + W.P.(CRL) 694/2024, CRL.M.A. 6441/2024 & CRL.M.A. 13004/2026 SHRI VED PRAKASH GAUR & ORS. .....Petitioners Through: Mr. Prag Chawla, Mr. Vasu Arora, Ms. Jasvin Dhama, Mr. Devender Kumar, Mr. Pankaj and Ms. Mehek Tanwar, Advocates, along with petitioner in person. versus STATE & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Amol Sinha, ASC (Criminal) for the State, with Mr. Kshitiz Garg, Mr. Ashvini Kumar, Ms. Chavi Lazarus and Mr. Nitish Dhawan, Advocates. CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV O R D E R % 15.09.2026 1. The present petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, read with Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, seeking quashing of FIR No. 6/2024, registered at Police Station Madhu Vihar, Delhi, for the offences punishable under Sections 447/448/34/120-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 [‘IPC’]. 2. The FIR appears to have been registered on the premise that the land admeasuring 1 Bigha, falling in Khasra No. 27111, and 4 Bighas, falling in Khasra No. 1027-31/277/6, situated at Village Mandawali, Faizalpur, This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/09/2026 at 12:12:37 District East, New Delhi, belongs to the Delhi Development Authority [‘DDA’]. 3. Petitioner no. 1, however, claims to have purchased the said land from the erstwhile owner by way of registered sale deeds dated 10.05.1973 and 20.05.1973. The name of the erstwhile owner stood recorded in the Khatoni and the Khasra Girdwari, and, thereafter, the name of petitioner no. 1 came to be recorded in the Khatoni qua the subject land for the year 1986-87. The said land was sought to be acquired along with a larger chunk of land admeasuring 1992 Bighas and 2 Biswas of Village Mandawali, and the award came to be passed on 22.12.1982. 4. Although the acquisition proceedings culminated in an award made in the year 1982, physical possession, according to the petitioner, was never taken over, nor was any compensation paid to petitioner no. 1, who claims to have continued in possession and enjoyment of the subject land till date. The petitioner thereafter filed Writ Petition (Civil) No. 4691/2017, challenging the acquisition proceedings in view of Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 [‘2013 Act’]. 5. The said writ petition came to be allowed on 14.07.2017, whereby the acquisition proceedings qua the subject land were declared to have lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act. It appears that, in the said proceedings, the revenue authorities admitted that neither had possession of the subject land been taken, nor had compensation been paid to petitioner no. 1. 6. When petitioner no. 1, with the assistance of petitioner nos. 2 and 3, was constructing a boundary wall on the subject land, the officials of respondent no. 2, i.e. the DDA, along with police personnel, reached the This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/09/2026 at 12:12:37 spot and objected to the same. 7. The DDA claims the said land on the strength of the purported acquisition and the award dated 22.12.1982. 8. In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, the claim of the DDA cannot be adjudicated in the course of the impugned FIR. The DDA will have to establish its rights over the land in question, and it is only thereafter that further proceedings, if any, can take place. The FIR, therefore, is beyond jurisdiction, inasmuch as the controversy falls within the realm of the determination of the private rights of the parties qua the land in question. 9. It has been held by the Supreme Court in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal,1 that the inherent power to quash a first information report, though to be exercised sparingly, extends to cases where the allegations do not disclose the commission of any offence, or where the proceedings are manifestly attended with mala fide. In particular, where a dispute which is essentially of a civil nature has been given the cloak of a criminal offence, and a civil remedy is available and has, in fact, been adopted, the Court should not hesitate to quash the criminal proceedings so as to prevent an abuse of its process, as was held by the Supreme Court in Paramjeet Batra v. State of Uttarakhand.2 10. Tested on the touchstone of the aforesaid principles, the dispute between the petitioners and the DDA is, in substance, one concerning title to, and possession of, the land in question, which the petitioners claim to have purchased and to have remained in possession of, and in respect of 1 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335. 2(2013) 11 SCC 673. This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/09/2026 at 12:12:37 which the acquisition proceedings have been declared to have lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act. The rival claim of the DDA, founded upon the award dated 22.12.1982, is a matter to be established before the appropriate civil forum, and cannot be adjudicated in the impugned criminal proceedings. The continuation of the FIR, in these circumstances, would amount to an abuse of the process of the Court. 11. Accordingly, the FIR No. 6/2024, and all consequent action pursuant thereto, stand quashed. The civil rights of the parties shall, however, remain unaffected by this order. 12. The petition, along with the pending applications, stands disposed of. PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV, J SEPTEMBER 15, 2026 P/Adi This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/09/2026 at 12:12:37