Short answer: A failed property deal or an unpaid sum is not a crime merely because an FIR has been registered. The Supreme Court has repeatedly said that a criminal court should not be used to recover money or to decide a civil dispute. But a civil remedy does not wipe out criminal liability where cheating or fraud is prima facie made out, so each case turns on its facts. A buyer pays an advance for a plot and the sale deed is never executed. A partner is accused of cheating after a joint venture collapses. In India, disputes of this kind often end up in two places at once, a civil court for the money or the property and a police station for an FIR. This article explains how the Supreme Court has drawn the line in recent anticipatory bail cases, including a bench order reported on 4 November 2026. Civil wrong and criminal offence: the basic difference A civil dispute is about rights and money. A person who has paid an advance and not received a sale deed can sue for specific pe...
Short answer: Yes. Under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, as amended in 2005, a Hindu daughter is a coparcener by birth in ancestral property, with the same rights as a son. In her father's self-acquired property, she inherits equally with the other Class I heirs if he dies without a Will, while a valid Will can direct otherwise. Many families still assume that the son gets the family property and the daughter gets only a wedding gift. The law no longer works that way. For Hindus, a daughter's right in her father's property depends on one basic question: is the property ancestral, or did the father earn it himself? This article explains both situations in simple terms. A Supreme Court ruling of May 2026 has also reminded courts that an old family arrangement cannot easily shut a daughter out. Whose law does this article cover? This article covers the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, which applies to Hindus, including Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. It does not apply to Muslims,...