Final departmental exoneration on identical facts can justify quashing parallel Customs Act prosecution as abuse of process.

Where departmental appellate orders have finally exonerated the accused on the same facts and evidence, continuation of Customs Act prosecution may amount to abuse of process and be quashed in inherent jurisdiction. The High Court treated the final adjudication as decisive, because the criminal complaint rested on the identical material already rejected in departmental proceedings, and declined to treat the availability of recourse to the Magistrate under the criminal procedure provision as a bar to relief.

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Issues: Whether criminal prosecution under the Customs Act could be quashed under inherent powers after the petitioners had been completely exonerated in departmental adjudication proceedings on the same facts and evidence, and whether recourse to the Magistrate under the criminal procedure provision was a necessary alternative.

Analysis: The departmental appellate orders had set aside the penalties and exonerated the petitioners, and those orders had attained finality. The criminal complaint was founded on the same set of facts and evidence. In these circumstances, continuing the prosecution would amount to an abuse of the process of law. The objection that the petitioners should instead have invoked the Magistrate's power under the criminal procedure provision was not accepted as a bar to relief.

Conclusion: The criminal proceedings were liable to be quashed in exercise of inherent jurisdiction.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a person has been completely exonerated in final departmental adjudication on the same facts and evidence, criminal prosecution based on those very materials may be quashed as an abuse of process.

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