Can the High Court under Section 24 CPC cure maintainability defects by converting a civil petition into a criminal petition for transfer of proceedings?

LawSikho
August 19, 2025
Category: High Court of Karnataka

High Court reaffirms its conversion power under Section 24 of the Civil Procedure Code to regularize petitions seeking transfer of criminal proceedings, providing binding guidance to subordinate courts on maintainability and procedural equity.

Summary

Category	Data
Case Name	Smt. Mamta Jain v. Dr. Vikram Kumar Jain (Civil Petition No. 366 of 2024)
CNR	KAHC010513142024
Date of Registration	09-09-2024
Decision Date	09-09-2024
Disposal Nature	Petition disposed of
Judgment Author	H.T. Narendra Prasad, J.
Court	High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru
Bench	Single Judge
Type of Law	Civil Procedure (Section 24 CPC)
Questions of Law	Whether Section 24 CPC permits conversion of a civil petition into a criminal petition to cure maintainability defects and facilitate transfer of proceedings.
Ratio Decidendi	The High Court may, under Section 24 CPC, convert a mis-classified petition into the appropriate petition type to cure procedural defects and enable adjudication on its merits. By permitting conversion from civil to criminal petition at the petitioner’s instance, the Court avoids undue technicalities and fulfills its transfer jurisdiction in the interests of justice and equity. A maintainability objection does not bar the High Court from exercising its transfer powers once conversion is sought and granted.
Citations	NC:2024:KHC:36614 CP No. 366 of 2024 CRL.Misc.No.7127/2022

What’s New / What Lawyers Should Note

Clarifies that a High Court petition under Section 24 CPC found to be of an improper nature can be regularized by converting it into the correct petition category at the petitioner’s request.
Affirms that maintainability objections regarding petition classification can be cured by conversion, without denying substantive relief.
Provides a procedural shortcut for parties seeking transfer of criminal proceedings who inadvertently file under the wrong petition heading.

Summary of Legal Reasoning

Office objection was raised as to the maintainability of the civil petition filed under Section 24 CPC.
Learned counsel for the petitioner requested permission to convert the civil petition into a criminal petition.
The Court recorded the submission and, invoking its power under Section 24 CPC, allowed the conversion.
The petition was disposed of for statistical purposes, with leave to file the appropriate memo for conversion.

Arguments by the Parties

Petitioner

Filed under Section 24 CPC seeking transfer of CRL.Misc.No. 7127/2022 (Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act) from JMFC II to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Bengaluru.
Maintained that conversion to a criminal petition would cure the maintainability defect.

Factual Background

The petitioner moved under Section 24 CPC to transfer CRL.Misc.No. 7127/2022, pending before the JMFC II Court under various sections of the Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act, to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Bengaluru. Upon registration (09-09-2024), the registry raised a maintainability objection. The petitioner’s counsel then sought and obtained permission to convert the civil petition into a criminal petition to regularize the application for transfer. The Court disposed of the petition for statistical purposes, allowing the conversion.

Statutory Analysis

Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 grants the High Court power to transfer cases and proceedings pending before subordinate courts.
The provision implicitly permits conversion of petitions filed under an incorrect heading, at the instance of the petitioner, to facilitate the exercise of transfer jurisdiction and avoid procedural technicalities.

Citations

NC:2024:KHC:36614
CP No. 366 of 2024
CRL.Misc.No.7127/2022