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Naveen Kaushik v. Central Bureau of Investigation

Criminal Appeal · 2018 INSC 418Decided 26 Apr 2018
Criminal Appeal No. 1393 of 2013
Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

This appeal (Crl.A. No. 1393/2013) was one of a very large group of over 40 connected criminal appeals and special leave petitions, all arising out of the same CBI case, that were listed and disposed of together by a common order. The appellants, including Naveen Kaushik, were seeking relief against orders passed in connection with ongoing criminal proceedings before the trial court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court dealt with each connected matter individually within the same order. As regards Criminal Appeal No. 1393 of 2013 (this case) along with several other connected appeals and one SLP, the Court permitted them to be withdrawn without prejudice to any contention the parties wished to raise before the trial court, and directed the parties to appear before the trial court for further proceedings on a specified date. Other connected matters in the same order were dealt with differently (some remanded in light of the Court's earlier ruling in Asian Resurfacing of Road Agency P. Ltd. v. CBI, some dismissed as infructuous, and some dismissed on merits), reflecting that the Court decided the fate of every tagged matter listed before it.

Lesson Learnt

Parties are free to withdraw a pending appeal to pursue their defence afresh at the trial stage, and such a withdrawal is treated as a final disposal of that appeal, even though the underlying criminal trial itself continues.

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

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