Supreme Court stays Allahabad High Court order, had ordered legal advice before filing FIR

The Supreme Court has stayed the recent order issued by the Allahabad High Court, in which the police were asked to seek legal opinion from the government before registering an FIR for fraud, forgery, or criminal breach of trust if the matter appeared to be a civil dispute.

A bench of Justices CT Ravikumar and Sanjay Karol issued notice on the petition of the Uttar Pradesh government and stayed some paragraphs of the High Court's decision, in which several instructions were issued to the officials. In its order dated August 14, the bench said, "Issue notice, which should be responded to in four weeks. The implementation of paragraphs 15 to 17 of the order dated April 18, 2024, shall remain suspended till the next date.''

The Uttar Pradesh government has challenged this order of the High Court before the apex court. This order was passed by the High Court during the hearing of a civil dispute related to ownership and title of land. The High Court had taken cognizance of the situation that apparently, with an increasing trend, civil disputes were being given the color of criminal cases.

The High Court had directed the Director General of Police to instruct all Senior Superintendents of Police to ask the SHOs of their respective police stations to ensure that the advice of the District Government Advocate shall be taken before registering an FIR in case of civil or commercial dispute.