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M/S. BLS Infrastructure Ltd. vs M/S. Rajwant Singh & Ors. (2023): Crl.A. Nos. 657-664 of 2023

Criminal Appeal · 2023 INSC 187Decided 1 Mar 2023
Criminal Appeal Nos. 657-664 of 2023
Sudhanshu Dhulia · Manoj Misra

Background

BLS Infrastructure Ltd. had filed eight criminal complaints against Rajwant Singh and others under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (cheque dishonour) between 2011 and 2017. In three of these cases the complainant had already been cross-examined, and by an order dated 26.10.2017 this cross-examination was treated as adopted for the remaining cases too, closing the complainant's evidence. While an application to summon further witnesses was pending, the complainant's counsel allegedly misled the company into believing a settlement was underway, so the company did not appear on the next date. The Magistrate dismissed all eight complaints for non-appearance on 25.01.2019, and the Delhi High Court upheld this dismissal.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined Section 256 of the CrPC, which lets a Magistrate acquit the accused if a complainant fails to appear, but its proviso allows the Magistrate to dispense with the complainant's presence and decide the case on merits if the complainant is represented by counsel or if personal attendance isn't necessary. Relying on its earlier rulings in Associated Cement Co. and S. Anand, the Court held that once a complainant's evidence has already been recorded and cross-examined, dismissing the case merely because the complainant was personally absent (rather than deciding it on the existing evidence) is not justified. Both the Magistrate and the High Court had failed to consider this proviso and the fact that evidence already existed on record. The Court set aside both orders and restored the complaints to the Magistrate's file, directing that proceedings resume from the stage they had reached before the dismissal.

Lesson Learnt

A criminal complaint cannot automatically be thrown out just because the complainant misses a hearing if their evidence has already been recorded on record: the Magistrate must consider deciding the case on the merits of the existing evidence rather than mechanically ordering acquittal.

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

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