Wednesday, June 11, 2008

a provision made in the agreement for referring the disputes to arbitration is not an effective substitute for a criminal prosecution when the dispute

What are the ingredients which constitute a criminal breach of trust to enable an aggrieved party to launch criminal proceedings against the accused? What is the effect of an arbitration clause in an Agreement when criminal proceedings have been initiated against the other parties to the Agreement?
Answer:
In Trisuns Chemical Industry vs. Rajesh Agarwal dealing with the effect of existence of arbitration clause in the Agreement on criminal prosecution on the ground that civil proceedings are also maintainable, the Supreme Court has held that quashing of FIR or a complaint exercising power under Section 482 CrPC should be limited to a very extreme exception; merely because an act has a civil profile is not enough to stop action on the criminal side. It was further held that a provision made in the agreement for referring the disputes to arbitration is not an effective substitute for a criminal prosecution when the disputed act constitutes a criminal offence.

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