{"id":17889,"date":"2026-03-25T10:50:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T10:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/?p=17889"},"modified":"2026-03-25T10:53:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T10:53:07","slug":"the-misuse-of-the-criminal-process-trial-courts-as-constitutional-gatekeepers-against-the-criminalisation-of-civil-disputes-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/the-misuse-of-the-criminal-process-trial-courts-as-constitutional-gatekeepers-against-the-criminalisation-of-civil-disputes-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"The Misuse of the Criminal Process: Trial Courts as Constitutional Gatekeepers Against the Criminalisation of Civil Disputes in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/span>Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Few principles in Indian criminal procedure carry as much constitutional weight as the doctrine of discharge \u2014 the power and duty of the trial court to terminate proceedings against an accused where the materials placed before it do not disclose sufficient grounds for proceeding to trial. Over decades of jurisprudential evolution, the Supreme Court of India has transformed what was once treated as a routine procedural threshold into a robust constitutional safeguard for personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.<\/p>

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