In Brief
Sachin Garg, Head of Factory at Exide Industries, was summoned for trial under Sections 405, 406, 504, and 506 IPC over a non-payment dispute with a gas supplier. The supplier claimed Rs. 9,36,693 was owed for dissolved acetylene gas under amended purchase orders with varying rates. The Supreme Court held that commercial disputes over contractual rates and payment, without evidence of dishonest misappropriation, cannot be criminalized. The complaint lacked essential ingredients of criminal breach of trust and made only vague allegations of intimidation. The Court quashed the criminal complaint and summoning order, holding that such disputes belong in civil courts, not criminal courts.
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