The HC quashed a complaint case involving alleged violations...

The HC quashed a complaint case involving alleged violations under Section 447 of the Companies Act, 2013, ruling that retrospective application of this provision constitutes abuse of process and malicious prosecution. The Court followed its precedent in a similar matter, holding that Section 447 cannot be applied retrospectively to pre-insertion transactions. The petitioner successfully established that prosecuting offenses under this section for conduct occurring before the provision's enactment was manifestly illegal and warranted quashing at the pre-trial stage. The HC allowed the petition, effectively terminating the criminal proceedings against the accused parties based on the fundamental principle against retrospective application of penal provisions.