The Supreme Court came down hard on the Uttar Pradesh police for their repeated practice of turning civil disputes into criminal cases. Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna called this trend “completely wrong” and indicative of a “total collapse” in the rule of law. The apex court issued a stern warning that damages may be imposed if such cases continue to surface.

In a strong rebuke, the Chief Justice said that legal professionals in the state seem to have forgotten the concept of civil jurisdiction. He emphasized that not every financial disagreement qualifies as a criminal matter.

The case before the court involved a bounced cheque, originally a civil issue, which was escalated by the police into a criminal complaint. A chargesheet was filed, and summons were issued—prompting the petitioner to approach the court, claiming the conversion was facilitated through bribery.

“This is not how the law works. Just because someone failed to pay money doesn’t make it a criminal act,” said the Chief Justice, adding that the investigating officer should be made to explain his actions under oath. “This is absurd. It’s happening repeatedly in Uttar Pradesh,” he noted.

The court stayed the criminal proceedings in the case and instructed Uttar Pradesh’s Director General of Police, Prashant Kumar, along with the investigating officer, to submit their responses within two weeks.

This isn’t the first time the issue has been raised. In December last year, CJI Khanna had expressed concern over the growing misuse of criminal law in civil matters, saying such practices unnecessarily overburden courts with cases that should be handled under civil jurisdiction.