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Raj Reddy Kallem vs. The State of Haryana & Anr.

Not available · 2024 INSC 347Decided 8 Apr 2024
Not available
Justice A.S. Bopanna · Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia

Background

In 2012, the complainant paid the appellant's company an advance of about Rs. 1.55 crore to supply a laser cutting machine. The company failed to deliver the machine, and cheques issued to refund the advance were dishonoured. The complainant pursued both a cheque-bounce case under the Negotiable Instruments Act and a separate criminal complaint that led to an FIR under IPC provisions for criminal breach of trust and cheating. The appellant approached the Supreme Court seeking to have the criminal proceedings quashed, arguing the dispute was purely commercial.

Decision Breakdown

The Court reiterated that criminal law cannot be used as a tool to recover money in what is essentially a civil/commercial dispute, unless there is clear evidence of dishonest or fraudulent intention from the very beginning of the transaction. Here, while the appellant admittedly failed to supply the machine after taking the advance, there was nothing on record showing he intended to cheat the complainant from the outset: the failure looked like a business default, not a planned fraud. Exercising its complete-justice power under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Court quashed the FIR, the related criminal proceedings, and even the pending NI Act appeals/conviction, and directed that demand drafts already deposited in court be handed over to the complainant.

Lesson Learnt

A failed business deal or bounced cheque, by itself, does not automatically amount to a criminal offence of cheating: criminal proceedings require proof of dishonest intent at the time of the transaction, and courts will step in to prevent civil disputes from being misused as criminal cases.

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

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