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M/S HCL Infosystem Ltd. v. Central Bureau of Investigation

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 751 of 2016)Decided 9 Aug 2016
Criminal Appeal No. 751 of 2016
Justice V. Gopala Gowda · Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel

Background

The case arose from the CBI's investigation into the large-scale NRHM (National Rural Health Mission) scam in Uttar Pradesh, where roughly Rs. 9,000 crores of central health funds were allegedly diverted: an investigation marked by the killing or suspicious deaths of several officials connected to the case. HCL Infosystem Ltd. and a co-appellant, both accused who were not public servants, challenged the jurisdiction of the specially designated Special Judge, CBI, Ghaziabad to try them, arguing that under the Prevention of Corruption Act a Special Judge can only try non-PC-Act offences or non-public-servant accused together with a public servant actually facing PC Act charges, and here the relevant public servant had died without any charge having been framed.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court acknowledged that its earlier ruling in Jitender Kumar Singh would ordinarily support the appellants' argument that a Special Judge cannot try non-PC-Act offences in the absence of a live PC Act charge against a public servant. However, it distinguished that precedent on two grounds: first, the framing of a PC Act charge was not yet ruled out on the material on record, making the appellants' argument premature; and second, unlike in Jitender Kumar Singh, this Special Judge had been specifically constituted (per government notifications) to try not only PC Act offences but all cases connected to the NRHM scam, a course the Court held was legally permissible under Section 26 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and its earlier ruling in Essar Teleholdings. Finding no legal bar to the Special Judge trying the connected non-PC-Act allegations against the appellants, the Court found no merit in the appeals and dismissed them.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will uphold a specially constituted trial court's jurisdiction over all offences connected to a single large scam, even accused who are not public servants and not charged under anti-corruption law specifically, where the court was expressly set up for that consolidated purpose and no law prohibits it.

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

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