Anilakumari vs State Of Kerala on 31 May, 2019
19. Even if there are bona fide civil disputes pending
between the parties, if a party takes law into his hands and
causes mischief, it would definitely come within the purview of
the offence punishable under Section 427 I.P.C. Mere assertion of
a claim of right by the accused is not sufficient. The question is
whether the accused had acted in good faith as an assertion of
the claim of reasonable right over the property. If the accused
was asserting his bona fide claim of right, there cannot be an
offence of mischief as defined in Section 425 I.P.C. The true test
in such case is whether the accused acted out of malice or in
assertion of bona fide claim of right over the property (See
Francis v. Tony John : 1987 (2) KLT 798).