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Asian Paints Limited v. Ram Babu

Criminal Appeal · 2025 INSC 828Decided 14 Jul 2025
Crl.A. No.-002952-002952 - 2025 (arising from SLP(Crl) No. 9888 of 2024)
Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah · Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra

Background

Asian Paints discovered counterfeit paint being sold under its brand name from a shop in Rajasthan owned by Ram Babu, and its authorised investigator lodged a police complaint that led to seizure of the fake goods and an FIR under the IPC and the Copyright Act. The trial court convicted Ram Babu, but the first appellate court acquitted him. When Asian Paints tried to challenge that acquittal as a "victim" under the proviso to Section 372 CrPC, the Rajasthan High Court dismissed the appeal as not maintainable, reasoning that Asian Paints was never formally the "complainant" before the trial court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the definition of "victim" under Section 2(wa) CrPC turns on who has suffered loss or injury from the offence, not on whether that person was the formal complainant before the trial court. Relying on its earlier three-judge bench ruling in Mallikarjun Kodagali and other precedents, the Court held that a victim, including a company harmed by IP crime like Asian Paints, has an independent statutory right to appeal an acquittal under the proviso to Section 372 CrPC. The Court set aside the High Court's dismissal, held the appeal maintainable, and restored it to the High Court for a fresh hearing on merits, leaving all factual and legal defences open to Ram Babu.

Lesson Learnt

A business or individual harmed by a crime (such as counterfeiting or IP theft) can appeal an acquittal as a "victim" even if they were not the original complainant in the case: victim status depends on being harmed by the offence, not on procedural technicalities about who filed the initial complaint.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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