Rimjhim Ispat Limited And Others Vs Union of India & Another (Supreme Court of India)
Summary: The Supreme Court of India in the case of Rimjhim Ispat Limited And Others Vs Union of India & Another has ruled that criminal prosecution can proceed independently even if a departmental adjudication is set aside on procedural grounds. The court dismissed an appeal by Rimjhim Ispat Ltd., Juhi Alloys Ltd., and Yogesh Aggarwal, who sought to quash criminal proceedings initiated against them under the Central Excise Act, 1944. The appellants’ argument was that the criminal complaint was based on an adjudication order that had been set aside by the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on procedural grounds, and therefore, the criminal case could not continue.
The court, however, clarified that the criminal complaint was not solely dependent on the quashed adjudication order. The complaint was supported by a separate investigation report and other evidence that independently justified the prosecution. The court referenced the judicial precedent established in Radheyshyam Kejriwal v. State of W.B., which affirms that parallel criminal and departmental proceedings can coexist. The court reiterated that criminal prosecution is only unsustainable if the accused is exonerated on the merits of the case, not when an adjudication order is set aside for procedural or technical reasons.
