In Brief
A property buyer complained that the seller failed to disclose an existing bank mortgage, invoking cheating charges under the IPC. However, after learning of the mortgage, the buyer himself paid it off and obtained the sale deed. He then filed successive complaints and a writ petition. The Supreme Court held that the underlying dispute was purely civil, not criminal. Using criminal law to settle civil disagreements amounts to abuse of process. Since the buyer's actions (paying mortgage, accepting deed) showed implicit acceptance, no criminal offence was made out. The Court quashed both the High Court's directions and the pending criminal proceedings.
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