TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2008 (1) TMI 594
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....Bajaj, Chairman-cum-Managing Director and Ms. Renu R. Bajaj, Director, respectively of M/s. Medisphere Marketing Ltd. have filed this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). The petition also seeks the setting aside of an order dated 19th May, 1999 passed by the ACMM dismissing the application filed by the Petitioners seeking discharge. 2. The facts leading to the filing of this petition are that the Petitioner Nos. 1 and 2 companies are engaged in the business of distribution of medicines. These Petitioners inter alia imported IV Cannulas viz. Vasculon, Neoflon, and Venflon at nil rate of customs duty against proper Bills of Entry taking benefit of the Exemption Notification No. 23/98-Cus. On 23rd Augu....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....tioners applied to the ACMM for dropping of proceedings. By the impugned order dated 22nd November, 2003 the learned ACMM dismissed the applications holding that the order passed by the CEGAT was not binding on the criminal court. Thereafter the present petition was filed in February, 2002. On 20th September, 2004 this Court stayed further proceedings before the trial court. 5. The contention of the learned counsel for the Petitioner is that on the strength of the recent judgments of this Court in Surkhi Lal V. Union of India, 131 (2006) DLT 12 and Sunil Gulati v. R.K. Vohra - 2007(1) JCC 22, this Court should quash the criminal proceedings since the departmental proceedings on a lesser degree of proof on the same set of facts have....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....eedings can proceed side by side. (c) if the departmental proceedings end in a finding in favour of the accused in respect of the allegations which also form the basis for the criminal proceedings then the departmental adjudication will remove the very basis of the criminal proceedings and in such situation the continuance of the criminal proceedings will be a futile exercise and an abuse of the process of the Court." 7. The above declaration of the law was reiterated by this court in Sunil Gulati in the following words - "1. On the same violation alleged against a person, if adjudication proceedings as well as criminal proceedings are permissible, both can be initiated simultaneously. For initiating criminal proceedings one does n....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ation in the adjudication proceedings is on merits and it is found that allegations are not substantiated at all and the concerned person(s) is/are innocent, and the criminal prosecution is also on the same set of facts and circumstances, the criminal prosecution cannot be allowed to continue. The reason is obvious criminal complaint is filed by the departmental authorities alleging violation/contravention of the provisions of the Act on the part of the accused persons. However, if the departmental authorities themselves, in adudication proceedings, record a categorical and unambiguous finding that there is no such contravention of the provisions of the Act, it would be unjust for such departmental authorities to continue with the criminal ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....here it was held that the exoneration in departmental proceedings cannot automatically led to closure of the criminal case in a situation where the departmental enquiry was completed even before the investigation in the criminal case commenced. 10 In the first place it requires to be noticed that this Court in Sun Gulati noted that the central issue in Standard Chartered Bank was whether criminal proceedings could be launched simultaneous with departmental proceedmgs and that question was answered in the affirmative The question whether, after the criminal proceedings were launched simultaneously, the exoneration in the adjudication proceedings would impact the pending criminal proceedings was not answered directly in Standard Chartered ....