Supreme Court Slams Trend of Turning Civil Disputes into Criminal Cases, says, ‘Courts not recovery agents'

Today (September 24, 2025), the Supreme Court (SC) of India has strongly warned against the misuse of Criminal Law in settling civil disputes, stating that the courts cannot be converted into ‘recovery agents’ for collecting money. The bench, consisting of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh, said that it is a trend in recent times where the parties file a criminal case for a pure civil dispute of money recovery. The court also observed that there was a threat to arrest being used and completely disapproved of it. The top Court further remarked, “The tendency to convert civil disputes into criminal cases has to be curbed. Courts cannot act as recovery agents for private parties.”

The case came before the court when there happened to be a Criminal case arising in Uttar Pradesh, where over a dispute of recovering money, an individual was alleged with kidnapping charges. The bench clarified, “Criminal proceedings are meant to deal with genuine offences, not to settle personal scores or enforce monetary claims.” During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General KM Natraj, who appeared for the Uttar Pradesh Government, argued that sometimes criminal proceedings are the only way to proceed when it is a matter of financial obligation and when the civil remedies are ignored by the defaulter.

The Bench understood the difficult position of the police in not registering an FIR for an alleged cognizable offence and that they would be criticized. Thus, the court encouraged the Police department to apply its mind before registering an FIR. The court also suggested that states appoint Nodal officers, preferably retired judges, to guide the Police in asserting a case, whether it is Civil or Criminal.