In Brief
K. Sitaram, Managing Director of State Bank of Travancore, and another senior officer were prosecuted for alleged criminal breach of trust, cheating, and conspiracy regarding the bank's assignment of a borrower's debt to Kotak Mahindra Bank without notifying the borrower. The Supreme Court quashed the criminal case, holding that while the banks had a contractual duty to inform the borrower of the assignment and failed to do so, the individual appellants could not be held vicariously liable without specific statutory provision. Critically, since the complainant had withdrawn charges against the Kotak Mahindra Bank officers in the same complaint, there was no justification for continuing prosecution against only the State Bank officers. The Court held the complaint did not survive and ordered it quashed in the interest of justice.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.