Tata Coffee Limited Vs Ramla (Kerala High Court)
The revision petition challenged the order dated 13.02.2026 of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Thrissur, which had returned a complaint filed by a private limited company alleging commission of an offence under Section 452 of the Companies Act, 2013 by its former employee. The complaint alleged that the former employee wrongfully withheld the residential accommodation provided by the company and refused to vacate it despite repeated demands.
The Magistrate, after a preliminary hearing on maintainability, held that under the amended statutory scheme of the Companies Act, penalties under Section 452 were to be adjudicated by the Adjudicating Officer appointed under the Act and not by a criminal court. The Magistrate further held that, after the 2020 amendment to the Companies Act, no criminal court had jurisdiction to take cognizance of an allegation under Section 452.
The High Court examined Section 452 of the Companies Act, 2013. It noted that the amendment introduced by Act 29 of 2020 with effect from 22.01.2021 merely inserted a proviso restricting imprisonment of a former employee in wrongful possession of a dwelling unit if the court is satisfied that the company had not paid provident fund, pension fund, gratuity fund or other specified dues. Except for the inclusion of this proviso, the amendment made no other change to Section 452.
