Abuse of law, if criminal charges are leveled by defaulter on bank officer for doing duty: Calcutta High Court

Abuse of law, if criminal charges are leveled by defaulter on bank officer for doing duty: Calcutta High Court

Observes it’s part of the job of the loans department official to recover the dues

The Calcutta High Court has stated that if criminal charges are leveled by a defaulter on all authorized officers of a bank/institution for acting in accordance with the law, the proceedings should not be allowed.

The bench of Justice Shampa Dutt was dealing with the revision filed for quashing of the proceedings of a complaint registered under Sections 447/448/384/504/509/506/34 of the Indian Penal Code.

The petitioner works with ICICI Bank Limited as a debt manager in the personal loan department.

The accused persons, aided and abetted with each other, hatched a criminal conspiracy, and allegedly trespassed into the house of the opposite party, demanding Rs.1.2 lakh. In protest, the accused persons became furious and abused the opposite party.

The bench found that the complainant admitted his dues. His defence was the financial crisis and high extra charges, such as overdue, time limit, and late fees. The statement of the account showed the complainant used the card at various kinds of outlets, including hotels/resorts.

The court noted that the petitioner had acquired appropriate training under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines to facilitate the bank in its recovery process. On 17 December 2019, he went to the house of the complainant at 2 pm to recover the dues.

The judge observed that the act of the petitioner was part of his job and the time of going to the petitioner’s house was also appropriate. Apparently, the petitioner did not intend to act in an unlawful manner. The outstanding due of the complainant was admitted. Thus, the conduct of the petitioner was in due course of his official duty, and he was empowered to do.

While allowing the revision application, the court stated that if an authorized officer of an institution was to face criminal charges leveled by a defaulter, it was clearly an abuse of the process of law. Therefore, such proceedings should not be allowed in the interest of justice.