By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Terming the law as a sacrosanct entity that exists to serve the ends of justice, the Supreme Court held that criminal complaints should only be initiated to meet the ends of justice and law should not be used to harass the accused.
Quashing a complaint filed against a trader of raw material chemicals used in food, food supplements, and medicinal preparations, a bench of Justices Krishna Murari and SR Bhat said, “While it is true that the quashing of a criminal complaint must be done only in the rarest of rare cases, it is still the duty of the High Court to look into each and every case with great detail to prevent miscarriage of justice. The law is a sacrosanct entity that exists to serve the ends of justice, and the courts, as protectors of the law and servants of the law, must always ensure that frivolous cases do not pervert the sacrosanct nature of the law.”
The court also said, “While this court does not expect a full-blown investigation at the stage of a criminal complaint, however, in such cases where the accused has been subjected to the anxiety of a potential initiation of criminal proceedings for such a length of time, it is only reasonable for the court to expect bare-minimum evidence from the Investigating Authorities.”
The top court’s ruling came in a plea assailing Madras HC’s order dated August 23, 2021, wherein the HC had refused to quash a complaint. The complaint was filed by the Drug Inspector against the proprietor of a company that traded raw materials alleging that a bulk quantity of pyridoxal-5-phosphate was broken up and sold to different distributors. While dismissing the plea, HC opined that a trial was necessary to ascertain the facts of the case and had passed an order for expediting the trial.
NEW DELHI: Terming the law as a sacrosanct entity that exists to serve the ends of justice, the Supreme Court held that criminal complaints should only be initiated to meet the ends of justice and law should not be used to harass the accused.
Quashing a complaint filed against a trader of raw material chemicals used in food, food supplements, and medicinal preparations, a bench of Justices Krishna Murari and SR Bhat said, “While it is true that the quashing of a criminal complaint must be done only in the rarest of rare cases, it is still the duty of the High Court to look into each and every case with great detail to prevent miscarriage of justice. The law is a sacrosanct entity that exists to serve the ends of justice, and the courts, as protectors of the law and servants of the law, must always ensure that frivolous cases do not pervert the sacrosanct nature of the law.”
The court also said, “While this court does not expect a full-blown investigation at the stage of a criminal complaint, however, in such cases where the accused has been subjected to the anxiety of a potential initiation of criminal proceedings for such a length of time, it is only reasonable for the court to expect bare-minimum evidence from the Investigating Authorities.”
The top court’s ruling came in a plea assailing Madras HC’s order dated August 23, 2021, wherein the HC had refused to quash a complaint. The complaint was filed by the Drug Inspector against the proprietor of a company that traded raw materials alleging that a bulk quantity of pyridoxal-5-phosphate was broken up and sold to different distributors. While dismissing the plea, HC opined that a trial was necessary to ascertain the facts of the case and had passed an order for expediting the trial.
