Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:46396-DB Court No. - 9 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. WRIT PETITION No. - 6997 of 2025 Petitioner :- Smt. Sharda Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Lko. And 3 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Parijat Mishra Belaura,Chanchal Kumar Pandey,Roshani Pandey Counsel for Respondent :- G.A.,Vinod Kumar Pandey Hon'ble Rajesh Singh Chauhan,J. Hon'ble Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi,J. 1. Heard Sri Parijat Belaura, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri G.D. Bhatt, learned AGA for the State and Sri Vinod Kumar Pandey who has filed 'Vakalatnama' on behalf of opposite party no. 4, same is taken on record. 2. Learned counsel for the petitioner has filed supplementary affidavit enclosing therewith the khatauni of Gata No. 1259/1.3190 and copy of plaint of Injunction Suit No. 636/2022 (Sharda vs. Ravi Shukla and others), same is also taken on record. 3. By means of this petition the petitioner has assailed the impugned F.I.R. bearing Case Crime No. 0338 of 2025 u/s 467, 468, 471, 419, 420 IPC, P.S. Kotwali Gosaiganj, District Sultanpur. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner has stated that in the impugned F.I.R. the date of incident has been indicated as 24.2.2015, however, the F.I.R. has been lodged on 13.7.2025 without explaining the aforesaid inordinate delay. Further attention has been drawn towards the copy of civil suit which has been filed by the accused no. 3, Sharda Devi, against the complainant of the F.I.R. and others. Learned counsel has stated that for the same subject matter civil proceedings are pending consideration before the court of Civil Judge (J.D.), Sultanpur w.e.f. 4.8.2022 but the F.I.R. has been lodged on 13.7.2025 having ulterior motive and extraneous design in the mind of complainant. Learned counsel has further submitted that in the aforesaid civil suit the learned trial court has granted order of status-quo in respect of property in question. 5. As per learned counsel for the petitioner the law is trite on the point that if any civil dispute is pending consideration before the competent civil court on the same allegation and in respect of same property the criminal proceedings may not be initiated. 6. Learned AGA as well as learned counsel for the opposite party no. 4 have opposed the aforesaid prayer by submitting that the F.I.R. has been lodged on the allegations so levelled by the complainant. However, this fact could not be disputed that the civil litigation is pending before the competent court. 7. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and having perused the material available on record we hereby do not find any reason to keep this petition pending any longer inasmuch as in a matter where civil litigation is pending criminal proceedings may not be permitted to continue. The Apex Court has held in numerous judgments that civil disputes may not be turned into criminal cases. The Apex Court has explicitly warned against using criminal law as a substitute for civil remedies. In the case of Urmila Devi vs. Balram, 2025 SCC Online SC 1574 (2025 INSC 915) the Apex Court has held that the criminal process cannot be utilized for any oblique purpose and also observed that the court should quash those criminal cases where the chances of an ultimate conviction are bleak and no useful purpose is likely to be served by continuation of a criminal prosecution. 8. Therefore, in view of what has been considered above the petitioner may not be harassed pursuant to the aforesaid F.I.R. No. 0338 of 2025 u/s 467, 468, 471, 419, 420 IPC, P.S. Kotwali Gosaiganj, District Sultanpur and the parties shall participate in the civil proceedings. 9. However, the petitioner may appear before the Investigating Officer on 18.8.2025 at 11.00 A.M. to record her statement and cooperate in the investigation but the concerning Investigating Officer shall remain careful to ensure that in a civil dispute / litigation, particularly on the same facts and circumstances, the police report is filed strictly in accordance with law. 10. Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of with the aforesaid observations giving liberty to the parties to appear and contest civil litigation. . [Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi,J.] [Rajesh Singh Chauhan,J.] Order Date :- 8.8.2025/Om Digitally signed by :- OM PRAKASH MISHRA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench