In Brief
A company (complainant) borrowed Rs. 900 lakhs from a consortium of banks. When the loan defaulted, State Bank of Travancore (lead bank) assigned its rights to Kotak Mahindra Bank by deed dated 29.03.2006, but failed to notify the borrower. The company learned of this only 9 months later and filed a criminal complaint against officers of both banks alleging criminal breach of trust and fraud. The company later withdrew the complaint against the Kotak Mahindra Bank officers but pursued it against the State Bank officers (appellants). The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and quashed the complaint against the appellants, holding that once the complainant withdrew allegations against co-accused bank officers, there was no independent justification to prosecute the remaining two officers of State Bank in the absence of specific evidence of their individual criminal intent.
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