S. N. Vijayalakshmi vs State of Karnataka 2025 INSC 917 - S.156(3) CrPC - Affidavit Requirement
Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 156(3) - Directions issued in Priyanka Srivastava v State of Uttar Pradesh are mandatory and operate prospectively - Non-filing of the supporting affidavit is a curable defect, but must be cured before the Magistrate passes any substantive order on the complaint/application, and if the Magistrate proceeds without the requisite affidavit, such order/any consequential orders/proceedings can be quashed on the sole ground of non-compliance with Priyanka Srivastava. (Para 45)
Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 482- If the element of criminality is there, a civil case can co-exist with a criminal case on the same facts. The fact that a civil remedy has already been availed of by a complainant, ipso facto, is not sufficient ground to quash an FIR- The obvious caveat being that the allegations, even if having a civil flavour to them, must prima facie disclose an overwhelming element of criminality. In the absence of the element of criminality, if both civil and criminal cases are allowed to continue, it will definitely amount to abuse of the process of the Court, which the Courts have always tried to prevent by putting a stop to any such criminal proceeding, where civil proceedings have already been instituted with regard to the same issue, and the element of criminality is absent. If such element is absent, the prosecution in question would have to be quashed. (Para 42)
Indian Penal Code 1860 - Section 406,420- The same person cannot be simultaneously charged for offences punishable under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC with regard to one particular transaction - Referred to V D Raveesha State of Karnataka where the distinction between Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC was duly taken note of, but charges under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC against the same person were upheld, not being part of a single transaction and committed against different persons. (Para 37)
Indian Penal Code 1860 - Section 405- Criminal breach of trust would arise only in a situation where the accused in any manner has been entrusted with property, or with any dominion over property and dishonestly misappropriates or converts the same to his own use, or dishonestly uses or disposes of that property. (Para 39)
Case Info
Case Name and Neutral Citation
- Case Name: S. N. Vijayalakshmi & Ors. v. State of Karnataka & Anr.
- Neutral Citation: 2025 INSC 917
Coram (Judges)
- Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia
- Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah
Judgment Date
- July 31, 2025
Caselaws and Citations Referred
- Priyanka Srivastava v State of Uttar Pradesh, (2015) 6 SCC 287
- Onkar Nath Mishra v State of NCT Delhi, (2008) 2 SCC 561
- Delhi Race Club (1940) Limited v State of Uttar Pradesh, 2024 SCC Online SC 2248
- G Sagar Suri v State of Uttar Pradesh, (2000) 2 SCC 636
- V P Shrivastava v Indian Explosives Ltd., (2010) 10 SCC 361
- Neeharika Infrastructure Private Ltd. v State of Maharashtra, (2021) 19 SCC 401
- Siddharth Mukesh Bhandari v State of Gujarat, (2022) 10 SCC 525
- V D Raveesha v State of Karnataka, 2024 INSC 1060
- P Swaroopa Rani v M Hari Narayana, (2008) 5 SCC 765
- Syed Aksari Hadi Ali Augustine Imam v State (Delhi Admn.), (2009) 5 SCC 528
- Paramjeet Batra v State of Uttarakhand, (2013) 11 SCC 673
- Usha Chakraborty v State of West Bengal, (2023) 15 SCC 135
- Babu Venkatesh v State of Karnataka, (2022) 5 SCC 639
- Ramesh Kumar Bung v State of Telangana, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 264
- Kanishk Sinha v State of West Bengal, 2025 SCC OnLine SC 443
- State of Haryana v Bhajan Lal, 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335
- Vesa Holdings Private Limited v State of Kerala, (2015) 8 SCC 293
- Gulam Mustafa v State of Karnataka, (2023) 18 SCC 265
- Pawan Kumar v State of Haryana, (2003) 11 SCC 241
- Javed Shaukat Ali Qureshi v State of Gujarat, (2023) 9 SCC 164
- Baidyanath Mishra v State of Bihar, 2019 SCC OnLine Pat 662
- M Siddiq (Ram Janmabhumi Temple 5J) v Suresh Das, (2020) 1 SCC 1
- Anoop Baranwal v Union of India [Election Commissions Appointments], (2023) 6 SCC 161
- Shilpa Sailesh v Varun Srinivasan, (2023) 14 SCC 231
Statutes / Laws Referred
- Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC)
- Section 405 (Criminal breach of trust)
- Section 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust)
- Section 415 (Cheating)
- Section 417, 418, 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property)
- Section 504, 506, 384, 120B (Criminal conspiracy), read with Section 34
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC)
- Section 200 (Examination of complainant)
- Section 154(1), 154(3) (Information in cognizable cases)
- Section 156(3) (Magistrate’s power to order investigation)
- Section 482 (Inherent powers of High Court)
- Constitution of India, 1950
- Article 136 (Special leave to appeal by the Supreme Court)
- Article 142 (Enforcement of decrees and orders of Supreme Court)
- Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
- Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948
#SupremeCourt observed that directions issued in Priyanka Srivastava judgment are mandatory and operate prospectively. More Importantly, it held that:
— CiteCase 🇮🇳 (@CiteCase) July 31, 2025
✅Non-filing of the supporting affidavit is a curable defect, but must be cured before the Magistrate passes any substantive… https://t.co/jTbeb3758n pic.twitter.com/eGzJnfI4I5
