'Mockery of justice': SC slams Allahabad HC ruling

On August 4, 2025, the Supreme Court of India delivered a sharp rebuke to Justice Prashant Kumar of the Allahabad High Court for upholding criminal proceedings in what was fundamentally a civil dispute, labelling the decision a "mockery of justice."

- RAKESH SINGH

The case arose from a commercial transaction that had been wrongly prosecuted as a criminal matter. Justice Kumar had justified the approach by arguing that civil remedies would be too time-consuming and costly.

The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, rejected this reasoning as legally flawed, stressing that criminal law cannot be invoked to resolve civil disputes. The court set aside the High Court's order dated May 5, 2025, remanded the case for fresh consideration by another judge, and imposed strict sanctions on Justice Kumar.