Supreme Court quashes criminal complaint against Trustees of personal estate Trust, calls it ‘abuse of process of law’
Justices Abhay S Oka & Ujjal Bhuyan [08-07-2024]

Read Order: Sardar Ravi Inder Singh & Anr v. State of Jharkhand & Anr [SC- CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 2807 OF 2024]

LE Correspondent

New Delhi, July 9, 2024: The Supreme Court has quashed a criminal complaint filed against the trustees of Sardar Bahadur Sir Inder Singh (Personal Estate) Trust, labelling the continuation of the case an "abuse of the process of law".

The complaint, filed by Ganesh Kumar Agiwal in 2007, alleged offenses under the Indian Penal Code related to a property sale transaction between the trustees and Agiwal. However, the court noted that Agiwal had previously withdrawn a suit for specific performance of the sale agreements, stating he had no further claims over the properties. Despite this, Agiwal pursued the criminal complaint, leading the accused trustees to seek discharge. The Jharkhand High Court dismissed their petition, prompting an appeal to the Supreme Court.

The apex court observed that the High Court had erred in refusing to quash the complaint, as Agiwal had clearly given up his rights under the sale agreements. The court emphasized that continuing the complaint would be nothing but an abuse of the legal process.

Allowing the appeal, the Supreme Court quashed the criminal case pending before the Judicial Magistrate in Jamshedpur, putting an end to the long-standing dispute between the parties.