TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (1) TMI 1611
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.... by the accused Ajay Malik in the FIR, as against the judgment dated 01.09.2022 of the High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital (High Court), whereby Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 96 of 2018 (CMA), seeking the compounding and quashing of the criminal proceedings initiated against him, was rejected (Ajay Malik's case). SLP (Crl.) No. 15131/2024, on the other hand, has been filed by the State of Uttarakhand, challenging the judgment dated 12.01.2021, in Criminal Revision No. 173 of 2019, whereby the co-accused Ashok Kumar's Revision Application seeking discharge was allowed by the High Court (Ashok Kumar's case). A. FACTS 4. Considering that these appeals arise from the same incident, their factual matrices remain predominantly uniform, with differences largely being restricted to the differing roles ascribed to Ajay Malik and Ashok Kumar. It is thus necessary to briefly advert to the facts that lay the foundation for these appeals. A. 1 Background to the materialization of the criminal incident 4.1 The Complainant, a resident of Birhipani Nawatoli Bokhi, Birhipani, District Jashpur, Chhattisgarh, belongs to a financially disadvantaged family from a Scheduled Tribe.....
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....ainant has further stated in the FIR that Ajay Malik had also left a mobile phone with the Complainant to remain in regular touch with her, using which she was able to contact the Police Authorities on 29.03.2017, to register a complaint of wrongful confinement. A. 2 Registration of the FIR 4.5 Acting on the Complainant's information, the Police arrived at Ajay Malik's residence, and with the assistance of Ashok Kumar, entered the premises. The Complainant was subsequently recovered, and the Police prepared a Recovery Memo dated 29.03.2017. Following this, an FIR was lodged on 30.03.2017 against four individuals-Ajay Malik, Mohan Ram, Subhash, and Shambhu-under Sections 343 and 370 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), at Police Station Rampur, District Sadar, Dehradun. On the same day, the Complainant's statement was recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), before the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Dehradun. 4.6 The investigation commenced, during which the Investigating Officer recorded witness statements, collected evidence, and subsequently filed the first Chargesheet against Shambhu on 09.07.2017. A second Chargesheet was filed on ....
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....r staying his arrest in connection with the captioned FIR, which operates till date. A. 3. 2 Ashok Kumar's case 4.12 Having elucidated the contextual backdrop amid which Ajay Malik's appeal arose, we now advert to the facts in Ashok Kumar's case. We note, at the cost of repetition, that the State of Uttarakhand has preferred this appeal against the order of the High Court discharging him from the criminal proceedings in Sessions Trial No. 124/2018. 4.13 In this scenario, the Police Authorities, having conducted further investigation in connection with the captioned FIR and accompanying complaint, filed Third Charge Sheet No. 93B/2017 against Ashok Kumar under Sections 343 and 120B of the IPC on 22.12.2017. The Magistrate, Dehradun, took cognizance of the same on 31.01.2018. Aggrieved, Ashok Kumar preferred a Discharge Application before the Court of First Additional Sessions Judge, Dehradun, under Section 227 of the CrPC on 06.08.2018. However, the said Court, vide order dated 02.03.2019, rejected his Discharge Application, having found prima facie evidence that he had held the keys to the residence wherein the Complainant was wrongfully confined. 4.14 Discontented with....
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....mphasise the quashing of frivolous or baseless prosecution. d) The Complainant's allegations are linked to prior disputes with the Placement Agency, and not Ajay Malik, further diminishing the relevance of the charges registered against him. 5.2 Mr Prashant Bhushan, Learned Counsel, appearing for Ashok Kumar, adopted the relevant part of the contentions put forth on Ajay Malik's behalf and fervently advocated to the correctness of the Impugned Judgment in discharging Ashok Kumar. Additionally, he canvassed the following submissions: a) Ashok Kumar is not only a DRDO Officer with decades of unblemished service; he also does not have any criminal antecedents. The only role attributable to Ashok Kumar in this entire factual scenario is the key he possessed to Ajay Malik's residence, which had been provided to him so that he could keep an eye on the premises in the absence of the latter. b) Ashok Kumar is being needlessly harassed for innocently and innocuously agreeing to keep the aforementioned keys with him. He was completely unaware of any alleged wrongful confinement being perpetrated by Ajay Malik. He, moreover, never went to Ajay Malik's residence b....
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....who was responsible for looking after the Complainant and the premises in Ajay Malik's absence. Similarly, her statement under Section 164 of the CrPC also details the allegations against Ashok Kumar. The High Court was thus incorrect in holding that no case was made out against him since he was not named in these two documents. b) The Recovery Memo further sheds light as to how when the Complainant was statedly freed from Ajay Malik's residence by Police Authorities, Ashok Kumar was called to the said premises, having been in possession of the keys thereof. This fact speaks to the reality that the Complainant was wrongfully confined in the house, with the sole key resting with Ashok Kumar, who while being aware of the Complainant's confinement, nonetheless elected to let her remain in that position. C. ISSUES 6. We have duly considered the rival submissions of the parties, as elucidated hereinabove, and carefully perused the material on record. We find that the following issues need to be analysed: i. Whether the High Court acted well within the contours of its powers under Section 482 of the CrPC in rejecting Ajay Malik's quashing petition? ii....
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....ere is any justification for quashing the criminal proceedings against him. D. 1. 1 The offences alleged against Ajay Malik 11. The analysis in this regard will address each of the offences enumerated against Ajay Malik, namely: (i) wrongful confinement under Section 343 of the IPC; (ii) human trafficking under Section 370 of the IPC; and (iii) criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the IPC. D.1.1.1 Wrongful confinement under Section 343 of the IPC 12. The IPC defines 'wrongful confinement' as 'wrongfully restraining any person in such a manner so as to prevent that person from proceeding beyond certain circumscribing limits'. Put more simply, this offence requires the satisfaction of two prongs: (i) the voluntary restraint of any person; and (ii) the act being done in a manner such that it prevents the said person from proceeding beyond circumscribing limits. 13. The State of Uttarakhand in this regard has vehemently contended that there are several factors militating against Ajay Malik, including the FIR detailing that he allegedly wrongfully confined the Complainant at his residence, and the Recovery Memo which enumerates that the Complainant was locked i....
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....ued a temporary pass issued by the DRDO Colony, where Ajay Malik's residence is located. The existence of this pass bolsters Ajay Malik's claim that the Complainant frequently left the residence and the colony for errands. Third, the Complainant's own no-objection affidavits, explicitly state that she was never wrongfully confined and that an alternative exit was always accessible to her. 17. On an objective consideration of this uncontroverted material on record, there can be no other conclusion except to hold that the allegations, even if accepted to be true, do not disclose the commission of an offence by Ajay Malik under Section 343 of the IPC. D.1.1.2 Trafficking and exploitation under Section 370 of the IPC 18. We now turn to the allegations against Ajay Malik under Section 370 of the IPC, pertaining to the trafficking and exploitation of the Complainant. In this regard, taking into consideration the extenuating circumstances surrounding this case, this allegation seems to lack any substantial merit. We say so for the following reasons: i. The FIR includes allegations of assault and exploitation against Ajay Malik and the other co-accused. However,....
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....rther states that she is now happily married with a daughter and has no desire to prolong the embarrassment caused to Ajay Malik and his family due to the allegations. It is thus abundantly clear that the Complainant has sought to recant the entirety of her allegations against Ajay Malik. 20. In this vein, having duly and holistically considered all of these aspects in toto, we are of the opinion that no prima facie offence under Section 370 of the IPC qua Ajay Malik has been made out as well. Not only is there no evidence of neglect or exploitation of the Complainant by Ajay Malik on record, but her own sworn statements in denying any abuse must also be given due credence. 21. We deem it important to note that while there may have been instances suggesting some degree of labour-based exploitation of the Complainant by Ajay Malik and his family, this is not evident from the face of the record, and we are not inclined to initiate an inquiry into this aspect. In any event, such allegations do not constitute an offense under Section 370 of the IPC, and we cannot conclusively find Ajay Malik guilty of trafficking and exploitation as defined therein. However, that being said, this....
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....sheet has been filed, the FIR alone cannot serve as the basis for dismissing Ajay Malik's claims. 26. Even assuming the FIR is accurate, it does not substantiate the charges, which appear to have been mechanically transcribed into the Chargesheet, despite the Investigating Agency having had sufficient opportunity to gather material evidence. Notably, no element of illegal confinement, trafficking, or criminal conspiracy has been established against Ajay Malik. Additionally, the Complainant has, under oath, stated that she was not illegally confined. If this remains her position in Court, the purpose of proceeding to trial becomes questionable, amounting to an exercise in futility and a sheer wastage of judicial resources. 27. Based on the foregoing facts, it appears that the Complainant's primary grievance lies in the unfair treatment she received from Subhash, Mohan Ram, and Shambhu. At this juncture, it is important to note that the allegations against these three co-accused are significantly more serious and grave, considering that charges have been filed against them under Sections 370, 373 and 376 of the IPC. The Placement Agency run by Shambhu could be described as a de....
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....Ajay Malik's Compounding Application owing to the non-compoundable nature of alleged offences, this issue is nonetheless rendered academic given our conclusion in the previous issue, where we have rejected the High Court's view regarding Ajay Malik's quashing application. Therefore, while we may not need to delve into this issue, it must be underscored that a delicate balance ought to be struck in cases wherein the parties seek compounding of the offences. Though well-intentioned, an excessively moralistic order may unnecessarily prolong criminal proceedings, which have no logical conclusion and only serve to further distress the parties. Accordingly, the correctness of the High Court's decision to disallow Ajay Malik's Compounding Application does not require our consideration on merits. D. 3 Issue No. 3: The State's challenge to Ashok Kumar's discharge 33. Adverting to Ashok Kumar's case, we shall now consider the merit of the State's challenge to the Impugned Judgment therein. At the cost of repetition, the proceedings herein concern Ashok Kumar, a neighbor and friend of Ajay Malik. Although Ashok Kumar was not initially named in the FIR, he was later Chargesheeted by ....
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....e final issue framed by us in these appeals, which pertains to the rights, protections, and privileges (or lack thereof) accorded to domestic workers in the Indian milieu. While this broader issue may only be tangential to the present appeals, we have taken it upon ourselves to deal with the same in light of the gravity and nature of the systemic issues we have been presented with. D. 4. 1 Background 38. It is an incontrovertible fact that the demand for domestic workers has been mounting in India, in consonance with rapid urbanization and development. According to reports by the International Labor Organization (ILO)-which is a United Nations agency devoted to promoting internationally recognized labour and human rights- domestic workers currently constitute a significant portion of the unorganised workforce in India, ILO Report, "Indispensable yet unprotected: Working conditions of Indian Domestic Workers at Home and Abroad", 2015. with millions of individuals, primarily women, ILO Report, "Employer practices and perceptions on paid domestic work: Recruitment, employment relationships, and social protection", 2023. engaged in this sector. Their contributions are indispensab....
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....as also extensively sought to protect the rights of domestic workers, which it recognises as a uniquely disadvantaged and marginalised class. It proactively advocates for the inclusion of domestic workers in preexisting labour treaties. For instance, during discussions on the Protection of Workers' Claims (Employer's Insolvency) Convention, 1992 (No. 173), the definition of 'insolvency' was revised to refer to as 'employer's assets' instead of the narrower term 'enterprise's assets,' ensuring domestic workers were covered. Moreover, Article 2 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), applies to all 'workers and employers' without any exception. 44. Reference may also be made to the principles of non-discrimination and equal opportunity in the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), and the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), which also cover domestic workers. In fact, the ILO Committee of Experts has repeatedly emphasised that laws or policies promoting equality in jobs must include domestic workers and that excluding them would violate these Conventions. ILO Guide, "Effective Protec....
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....tions of domestic workers. It aimed to establish minimum standards for wages, work hours, and employment terms for domestic workers. However, the Bill received little support and was ultimately not enacted into law. ii. The House Workers (Conditions of Service) Bill of 1989 sought to address similar issues, focusing on formalising employment practices and providing essential safeguards for domestic workers. Despite being introduced, this Bill neither formed the subject of significant Parliamentary discussions nor advanced towards enactment. iii. The Housemaids and Domestic Workers (Conditions of Service and Welfare) Bill, 2004 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha as a private member's Bill. This Bill proposed mandatory registration of domestic workers and required the government to ensure sufficient employment opportunities, medical benefits, and other welfare measures. It also included penalties for employers hiring unregistered workers. However, the Bill was not passed by Parliament. iv. The Domestic Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2008, introduced by the National Commission for Women, aimed to establish a registration process for....
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....ess the issue of minimum wages for domestic workers. Moreover, statutes such as the Social Security Code of 2020 replace earlier legislation, including the Unorganized Workers' Social Security Act of 2008, bringing domestic workers within the ambit of 'unorganised workers'. This inclusion makes them eligible for various benefits such as social security, health insurance, provident fund, and maternity benefits. Further, the introduction of the e-Shram portal in 2021 has facilitated the creation of a centralised database to identify and register migrant/domestic/unorganised workers, enabling their access to welfare schemes. 52. It is equally noteworthy that despite the absence of comprehensive protections for domestic workers through a Central Law, several States have taken initiatives to safeguard their rights and welfare. Tamil Nadu established the Tamil Nadu Domestic Workers Welfare Board in 2007 under the Tamil Nadu Manual Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Work) Act, 1982. The Board administers various social security benefits, including education assistance, marriage assistance, delivery assistance, accidental death compensation, and pensions. These benefits....