Civil disputes: No police interference sans court order
HYDERABAD: The police cannot interfere in any civil dispute, including that over property, unless ordered by a competent court. Police interfering in civil matters and threatening and coercing people is nothing but violation of the fundamental rights of citizens. Issues pertaining to property disputes come within the domain of the civil courts and the parties should approach those courts for redress, and are outside the limits of the duties of the police. The settled position of law is that the police should not interfere in civil disputes.
In a case before the Hyderabad High Court, a petitioner from Kurnool district of AP sought relief in the nature of a writ of mandamus to direct the local police to protect and preserve his title and possession of a subject land. He said the subject property was in possession and enjoyment of his father during his lifetime. Later, his father’s sister’s son and his father’s brother’s wife filed a suit in the Koilakuntla civil court seeking permanent injunction against his father. The suit was decreed in their favour. Aggrieved by the decree, the petitioner preferred an appeal before Allagadda senior civil judge. The appeal was allowed and the decree was set aside. The relatives then filed a second appeal which was dismissed.
The petitioner claimed that the relatives had no right, title and possession over the suit schedule land and that they had no right to enter his land. He alleged that they were trying to interfere in his possession and enjoyment of the property. When the police did not take any action against the respondents (relatives) despite several representations, he moved the High court under Article 226 of the Constitution (power of High Court to issue certain orders) to protect his possession over the said property. The petitioner’s counsel told the High Court that the police officials concerned did not consider the complaint given by the petitioner regarding protecting his possession over the subject property despite succeeding in the civil court and obtaining a decree in his favour.
The government counsel said the petitioner ought to have filed an execution petition instead of the present petition seeking police protection. The police cannot provide protection to the petitioner unless they get a police-aid protection order from the court concerned as per law. As the police officials concerned had no orders or directions from any competent court to protect the possession of the petitioner, they cannot interfere in a civil matter, he said.
Justice G Shyam Prasad said it was obvious that the present petition was misconceived. The petitioner ought to have proceeded in the civil court by filing execution petition and sought orders for police aid to protect his possession over suit-schedule property. Police cannot interfere in any civil dispute unless there is an order by the competent court to them to protect the possession of the petitioner, the judge made it clear.