Can FIR be quashed on the ground of inordinate Delay ?
The Supreme Court has recently observed that unexplained or inordinate delay can be considered to be a very crucial factor for the purpose of quashing a criminal complaint.The Bench of Justices Krishna Murari and S Ravindra Bhat observed that the law is meant to protect the innocent rather than to be used as a sword to threaten them.In the instant case, a Drug Inspector inspected the accused’s premises in 2013 for alleged contravention of Section 18c of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940 r.w Rule 65(5)(1)b of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules.However, the complaint against the accused was lodged against him four years later in 2016 and the accused moved the High Court of Madras seeking to quash the complaint but his plea was dismissed prompting him to approach the Supreme Court.At the outset, the Top Court noted that the complainant has provided no explanation for the extraordinary delay of more than four years.As per the court, this delay indicates a sinister motive behind initiating the criminal proceedings and while inordinate delay might itself not be a ground to quash the complaint, in such cases unexplained and inordinate delay is a crucial ground to quash the complaint.The further observed that the law must not be used as a tool to harass the accused and its the duty of the court to look into every case to prevent miscarriage of justice.With these observations, the court allowed the appeal filed by the accused. #supremecourt #cosmetics #lawDr. Ajay Kummar Pandey
( LLM, MBA, (UK), PhD, AIMA, AFAI, PHD Chamber, ICTC, PCI, FCC, DFC, PPL, MNP, BNI, ICJ (UK), WP, (UK), MLE, Harvard Square, London, CT, Blair Singer Institute, (USA), Dip. in International Crime, Leiden University, the Netherlands )Advocate & Consultant, Supreme Court of India & High Courts4C Supreme Law International, Delhi, NCR. Mumbai & DubaiTel: M- 91- 9818320572. Email: editor.kumar@gmail.comWebsite: www.ajaykr.com, www.4Csupremelawint.com
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