'Oral agreement given cloak of criminal case': SC quashes FIR against ex Maj Gen's wife, daughter; imposes Rs 10 lakh cost on builder's agent

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has quashed an FIR lodged against the wife and the daughter of a Late Major General at the behest of an influential builder in Telangana over a dispute concerning sale of land.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep allowed an appeal filed by Mala Choudhary and her daughter against the High Court's order of April 28, 2023, holding that it, in absolutely casually, cryptic, laconic and perfunctory manner, disposed of the appellants' plea, without addressing the merits of the matter.

"The High Court acted with absolute pedantic approach," the bench said.

The court slapped Rs 10 lakh cost on the complainant for misusing the process of criminal law and entangling the appellants in the criminal case. The amount has to be paid to the 70-year-old wife of Late Major General P S K Choudhary and their 50-year-old daughter, who resided in New Delhi.

The aged woman had to suffer eight days incarceration in Telangana after the FIR was lodged at Police Station Gachibowli, District Cyberabad on December 14, 2020 by an alleged agent of M/s Sandhya Constructions and Estates Pvt Ltd.

It was claimed in the FIR that despite payment of Rs 4.05 crore through bank transfer and Rs 75 lakh in cash, the accused women failed to sell the 500-square-yard plot in Ranga Reddy district and transfer a farm house in Chhattarpur in Delhi, following an oral agreement.

In the 21-page judgement on behalf the bench, Justice Mehta said, this is a classic case of the complainant, who seems to be wielding some clout in Telangana, misusing the process of police investigation so as to entangle the accused appellants, who are residents of New Delhi, in a totally false and frivolous prosecution.

The court noted a plain and simple dispute involving non-execution of a registered sale deed in terms of so-called oral agreement has been given the cloak of a criminal case by misusing the criminal machinery.

"Even from the admitted allegations set out in the complaint, there was no justification for registering the FIR and rather the complainant should have been instructed to avail the appropriate remedy by approaching the civil court," the bench said in its decision on July 18, 2025.

In gross disregard to all tenets of law, the FIR was registered for allegations, having no elements of any offence whatsoever, the court added.

The bench also found drastic variance in the complainant’s allegations with regard to the oral agreement in the FIR vis-a-vis assertions made in a suit for specific performance filed subsequently, which did not contain anything related to a Chhattarpur farm house or an assurance concerning sale of neighbouring plot.

Though the appellants offered to refund Rs 4.05 crore, the complainant declined it, unless the amount was paid back with interest to settle the dispute.

On this, the court said the fair offer to refund the money received through banking channel and the blunt refusal should be taken on record in the proceedings of the civil suit.

"Rather than awarding the interest, it is a fit case where the complainant should be penalised with exemplary cost for misusing the process of criminal law in a case which was of purely civil nature," the bench said.

As the appellants apprehended harm to their life, the court directed the Telangana police to provide them security on their visit to the state for management of their property.