'Abuse Of Process' : Supreme Court Dismisses Cheque Case Convict's Plea Against Alleged Unlicensed Money Lending
The Supreme Court recently dismissed a Writ Petition filed by a convict in a cheque dishonour case, who sought a direction against alleged unlicensed money-lending practices in the State of Tamil Nadu.
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta noted that the plea was a “manifest abuse of the process of law” aimed at reopening a concluded criminal conviction under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
The petitioner, S. Gayathiri, had approached the Court under Article 32 of the Constitution seeking various directions, including framing of guidelines in cases involving alleged loan defaults by unlicensed money-lenders, strict enforcement of the Tamil Nadu Money Lenders Act, 1957, and institutional safeguards for borrowers.
However, the Court noted that the petitioner had already been convicted under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act by the Trial Court in 2017 and sentenced to one year's simple imprisonment along with payment of Rs. 18 lakhs compensation with 6% interest. The conviction and sentence were subsequently affirmed by the Sessions Court as well as the High Court in revision proceedings.
Against the High Court's decision, the petitioner also approached the Supreme Court, which, in an earlier proceeding, had upheld the conviction.
Noting that the petitioner had availed of the entire hierarchy of remedies, including indulgence from this Court, cannot be permitted to reagitate issues, whether directly or indirectly, under the guise of a writ petition, the Court said that “the conduct of the Petitioner reflects a calculated attempt to unsettle concluded findings and to evade the legal consequences of a conviction that has attained finality.”
Accordingly, the petition was dismissed, with a cost of Rs. 1 lakh, to be deposited with the Registry.
“In light of the foregoing, we are satisfied that the present petition is a clear misuse of the process of this Court and is wholly misconceived. The writ petition is, accordingly, dismissed. Given the conduct of the Petitioner, costs of Rs. 1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh only) are imposed. The said costs shall be deposited with the Registry of this Court within a period of six weeks from the date of this order. The amount so deposited shall be transmitted to the accounts of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and Supreme Court Advocates' On Record Association (SCAORA) in equal shares within two weeks of the deposit.”, the court ordered.
Cause Title: S. GAYATHIRI VERSUS THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU & ORS.
Appearance:
For Petitioner(s) :Mr. Karan Bharihoke, Adv. Mr. Devanshu Yadav, Adv. Mr. Sahil Sharma, AOR
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Gopal Verma, AOR Mr. Umang Verma, Adv.