Dasalla v. City Attorney of Quezon City

Summary

This case involves the doctrine of prejudicial questions in criminal proceedings. Petitioners Dasalla executed a mortgage instrument allegedly through fraud, discovered the loan was never granted, and filed a civil case to nullify the mortgage. When criminal complaints were filed against them for usurpation, grave coercion, and estafa, they sought to suspend the preliminary investigation claiming a prejudicial question existed in the pending civil case. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower courts' denial of the prohibition petition, ruling that the proper time to seek suspension of criminal proceedings due to prejudicial questions is after informations are filed, not during preliminary investigation. The Court noted that if the prosecuting officer finds the mortgage invalid, no informations would be filed anyway.