In a sharp rebuke delivered on 17 September, the Supreme Court questioned the motives behind a fresh criminal case based on a 54-year-old property document. The bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh stayed the arrest of 71-year-old Usha Mishra, calling the case “an apparent abuse of process.”
Background
The dispute began when an advocate filed an FIR in 2023 alleging forgery of a sale deed dated 21 August 1971. Mishra, who was neither buyer, seller, witness, nor beneficiary of that transaction, suddenly found herself named as an accused. After the Allahabad High Court casually dismissed her request for anticipatory bail, she approached the Supreme Court seeking protection.
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Court’s Observations
During the hearing, the bench expressed surprise and disapproval at the High Court’s handling of the case.
"It is quite unfortunate that the Allahabad High Court has illogically turned down the prayer for grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioner who is a 71-year-old woman," the judges remarked.
They noted the lack of any logical link between Mishra and the decades-old sale deed. The Court also took serious note of the complainant's conduct. The respondent advocate, who allegedly initiated the FIR, was found to be avoiding court notices.
The bench directed, "Let bailable warrants to the sum of Rs.10,000 with equal surety be issued to secure the presence of respondent No.2… In case respondent No.2 shows any reluctance in accepting notice, his presence will be secured through non-bailable warrants."
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Decision
Ordering an immediate stay on Mishra’s arrest, the Supreme Court required the local Station House Officer to produce the original records of the FIR and to explain why the proceedings-"prima facie an abuse of process of law”-should not be quashed. The advocate-complainant must also show why exemplary costs should not be imposed for dragging a senior citizen into a seemingly baseless case.
The matter is scheduled for the next hearing on 8 October 2025, when the Court will decide on possible quashing of the FIR and penalties against the complainant.
Case Title: Usha Mishra vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr.
Case No.: SLP (Crl.) No. 9346/2025
Next Hearing: 8 October 2025
