In Brief
In this Criminal Appeal, the Supreme Court examined a High Court direction to register an FIR against the appellants for alleged fraud and forgery. The Court clarified the boundary between civil and criminal remedies: while civil disputes should not be misused as vehicles for criminal prosecution, the mere pendency of civil proceedings cannot prevent FIR registration if a criminal offence has genuinely been committed. The Court set aside the blanket direction to register the FIR but stated the police retain discretion to do so if satisfied by submitted evidence that criminality exists. The appeal was partly allowed without expressing any opinion on the complaint's actual merits."
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