New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday held that a criminal case against a company for offences requiring mens rea (guilty mind) cannot be quashed merely because the investigating agencies have not identified or arraigned a particular director, employee or any other person as an accused in the cheating case.Rejecting Sanofi India's appeal to quash a criminal case relating to criminal conspiracy and cheating on allegations of receiving undue favours from a scientific officer from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre on supply of pharmaceutical products, a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said that "corporate criminal liability is a notoriously vexed issue and the difficulty traces back to two fundamental notions we simultaneously hold about corporations.First, a corporation is an artificial person with an identity distinct from that of its members. Second, a corporation is merely an abstraction, that is, an impalpable thing or, as is famously said, a corporation has 'no soul to damn and no body to kick'."
Supreme Court ruling: Company criminal liability upheld even without director indictment in cheating cases
The Supreme Court ruled criminal cases against companies can proceed without specific individuals named. This decision impacts corporate criminal liability, which remains a complex legal issue. The court rejected Sanofi India's plea to quash a cheating and conspiracy case. Allegations involve undue favors from a Bhabha Atomic Research Centre scientific officer. Corporate criminal liability is a notoriously vexed issue, the bench observed.
161 words~1 min read
