New Delhi, April 8 -- The Supreme Court on Monday said there was a "complete breakdown of rule of law in Uttar Pradesh" after coming across FIRs filed by the State Police in civil cases.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan asked the Director General of Police and the Station house officer of a Gautam Budh Nagar district police station to file affidavits, explaining why the criminal law was set in motion in a civil dispute.
"There is a complete breakdown of rule of law in Uttar Pradesh. Converting a civil matter into a criminal case is not acceptable," the CJI said. The bench was irked after a lawyer said the FIR was filed as civil disputes take a long time to settle. "This is wrong w...