Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has made it clear that police cannot be treated as recovery agents in financial disputes. This clarification came during a hearing of a petition filed by V Satish Kumar from Hyderabad, who had lent money to P Dinesh.
When Dinesh failed to repay the loan, Satish approached the police seeking their intervention. However, the police refused to register a First Information Report (FIR), informing Satish that such matters are civil disputes and should be addressed in civil court, not through police action.
Dissatisfied with the police response, Satish took the matter to the High Court, seeking an order to compel the police to recover his money. Justice T Vinod Kumar, who presided over the case, categorically stated that the court cannot direct the police to recover money in private financial matters.
The judge emphasized that asking the police to intervene in such cases would essentially reduce their role to that of private recovery agents, which is not their mandate or legal responsibility.
The court further observed that the proper legal recourse for recovering unpaid loans is to file a civil suit. Police intervention is not appropriate in these cases, as their duties do not include the collection of private debts. The judge concluded that the police were justified in refusing to register the complaint and that Satish should pursue his claim through the civil courts.
Following these observations, the petitioner’s lawyer requested to withdraw the petition, which the court permitted, resulting in the dismissal of the case. This ruling reinforces the distinction between civil and criminal matters, underscoring that police cannot be compelled to act as agents for private loan recovery.
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