Urmila Devi vs Balram 2025 INSC 915 - S.482 CrPC - Civil Nature - Cloak Of Criminal Offence
Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 482 - While exercising powers under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C, a High Court can examine whether a matter which is essentially of a civil nature has been given a cloak of a criminal offence- Courts have to be vigilant to ensure that the machinery of criminal justice is not misused for achieving oblique motives and agendas. Tacitly endorsing such misuse only unnecessarily burdens the courts and the criminal justice system. (Para 8.9)
Case Info
Case Name and Neutral Citation
- Case Name: Urmila Devi & Others v. Balram & Another
- Neutral Citation: 2025 INSC 915
Coram (Judges)
- Hon’ble Justice B. V. Nagarathna
- Hon’ble Justice K. V. Viswanathan
Judgment Date
- Date: July 31, 2025
Caselaws and Citations Referred
- State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335 (“Bhajan Lal”)
- Prof. R.K. Vijayasarathy v. Sudha Seetharam, (2019) 16 SCC 739 (“R.K. Vijayasarathy”)
- Anand Kumar Mohatta & Anr. v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2019) 11 SCC 706 (“Anand Kumar Mohatta”)
- Inder Mohan Goswami vs. State of Uttaranchal, (2007) 12 SCC 1
- Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia vs. Sambhajirao Chandrojirao Angre, (1988) 1 SCC 692
- Vishal Noble Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1680
- State of Karnataka v. L. Muniswamy, (1977) 2 SCC 699
Statutes/Laws Referred
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.)
- Section 482
- Section 156(3)
- Section 200
- Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC)
- Section 419
- Section 420
- Section 467
- Section 468
- Section 471
- Land Revenue Act, 1901
- Section 34
#SupremeCourt reiterates that while exercising powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C, a High Court can examine whether a matter which is essentially of a civil nature has been given a cloak of a criminal offence. https://t.co/snmJQQ1036 pic.twitter.com/twP52wK7WF
— CiteCase 🇮🇳 (@CiteCase) July 31, 2025
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