India, July 19 -- The Supreme Court on Friday imposed a cost of Rs.10 lakh on a Hyderabad-based man for misusing the criminal machinery and dragging the widow and daughter of a retired Army Major General in a totally "false and frivolous" prosecution over a plot of land in Telangana.

The court quashed the criminal case lodged against the 70-year old woman and her 52-year old daughter, who are residents of Delhi, and directed the Hyderabad police to grant them protection on their visit to the state for managing their 500 square yard plot situated in Gachibowli village of Ranga Reddy District.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said, "A cost of Rs.10 lakh is imposed on the complainant for misusing the process of criminal la...