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N. Raghavender v. State of Andhra Pradesh (CBI)

Criminal Appeal · 2021 INSC 876Decided 13 Dec 2021
Criminal Appeal No. 5 of 2010
Chief Justice N.V. Ramana · Justice Surya Kant · Justice Hima Kohli

Background

The appellant, a bank branch manager, was convicted by a trial court of criminal breach of trust, cheating, and falsification of accounts, along with corruption charges, for allegedly engineering irregular withdrawals and premature closure of fixed deposits belonging to a customer, causing suspected loss to the bank. The Andhra Pradesh High Court upheld the conviction. The appellant also faced departmental dismissal from the bank on the same facts.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found that the prosecution's case depended critically on the testimony of the customer whose funds were allegedly misused, but that customer was never examined as a witness: a gap the Court treated as fatal to the prosecution's case. It held that no actual financial loss was proved to have been caused to the bank or the customer, and that suspicion, however strong, could not substitute for proof beyond reasonable doubt. The Court therefore set aside the criminal conviction, but separately held that the appellant's conduct still amounted to serious departmental misconduct, and upheld his dismissal from bank service, noting that the standard of proof for a departmental enquiry is lower than for a criminal conviction.

Lesson Learnt

An accused person can be acquitted of criminal charges for lack of proof beyond reasonable doubt while still facing valid departmental or employment consequences for the same conduct, because the two proceedings apply very different standards of proof.

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

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