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Supreme Court of India 2023-05-18 allowed

MADHUPANDIT DAS vs THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL & ANR

Bench: 2 — Ajay Rastogi, Bela M. Trivedi

In Brief

Two senior ISKCON leaders were accused of conspiracy, theft and forgery related to a bus allegedly misappropriated in 2001. The complaint was filed only in 2009—eight years later—after no police action on prior written complaints. The Supreme Court quashed all criminal proceedings, holding the unexplained eight-year delay combined with complete absence of substantive evidence or prima facie case constituted flagrant abuse of process. The allegations were so improbable no reasonable person could conclude sufficient grounds for prosecution existed. The Court found the proceedings were malicious retaliation to settle personal disputes, not genuine law enforcement.

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Criminal Procedure Abuse of Process Quashing of Proceedings Criminal Conspiracy Theft Criminal Breach of Trust Forgery

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