Supreme Court Suspends Allahabad HC Order Requiring Police to Seek Legal Opinion Before Filing FIRs in Civil/Commercial Disputes.

Legal News by - ROMA (This News was written by her during her Internship)

In a momentous legal development, the Honourable Supreme Court of India on August 14, halted the enforcement of an impugned directive from the Allahabad High Court where the court mandated that the Uttar Pradesh Police must solicit a legal opinion from the government council before the registration of the First Information Report (FIR) in matters that, prima facia appeared to pertain to civil transactions.

This ground-breaking directive was designed to compel law enforcement agencies to obtain an expert legal assessment to determine whether the matter in question warranted criminal proceedings or fall within the realm of civil disputes.

The stay order was promulgated by a bench of the Supreme Court consisting of Justice C.T Ravi Kumar and Justice Sanjay Kirol.

The bench was adjudicating a Special Leave Petition (SLP) lodged by the Uttar Pradesh government, contesting the order passed by the Allahabad High Court on April 18, 2024. In its order dated August 14, the bench directed, “ Issue notice, returnable in four weeks. The operation and implementation of paragraphs 15 through 17 of the challenged order dated April 18, 2024, issued in Criminal Misc. Writ Petition No. 5848/2024, are stayed until the next date of listing.”

The Allahabad High Court earlier stated that in circumstances where a First Information Report (FIR) is sought to be filed under Sections 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 408 (criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code, and where it appears on a prima facie assessment that the case may involve commercial or civil disputes, a stringent procedural protocol must be followed. Specifically, it was mandated that in such scenarios, the opinion of the pertinent District Government Counsel or Deputy District Government Counsel must be solicited within their respective districts. Only upon the receipt of a formal and comprehensive report from these legal experts will the FIR be permitted to proceed. This directive underscores a meticulous approach to ensuring that the registration of criminal charges is preceded by a rigorous examination to ascertain whether the matter should indeed be adjudicated within the criminal justice system or if it is more appropriately categorized as a civil or commercial dispute.

Moreover, the High Court had unequivocally stated that “ It is hereby clarified that for all cases in which the First Information Reports (FIRs) are to be registered after May 1, 2024, should the concerned police officials fail to obtain the requisite legal opinion to the registration of the FIR, such omissions may render them subject to contempt proceedings.”

One must ask what the High Court's stance was while giving such an order.

The High Court articulated concern that civil disputes are being given the colour of criminal cases which is detrimental, thereby issuing a slew of guidelines to the authorities and police.

Furthermore, the High Court also mandated that the Magistrates should only direct the registration of the FIR under Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code after a meticulous review of the case circumstances.

However, in response to these directives, the honourable Supreme Court remarked, “The execution and enforcement of paragraphs 15 to paragraphs 17 of the contentious order dated April 18, 2024, from the lower court, are to be approached with careful consideration, The bench highlighted that these specific sections, which deal with the procedures and requirements for registering FIRs must be implemented thoughtfully. “ and thereby, putting a stay on the High Court’s directions.

The Supreme Court’s stay marks the resumption of the standard FIR registration process, free from the burden of soliciting legal counsel in such cases.

This decisive intervention of the respected Supreme Court eschews the imposition of new procedural requirements, allowing law enforcement to proceed with Fir registration as per established protocols.

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