In Brief
Vijay Kumar Ghai and others, directors of an apparel company, were accused of cheating and criminal breach of trust by SMC Global Securities Limited in a criminal case. The company had received Rs 2.5 crore as investment and issued shares, but failed to bring out an IPO as promised. The High Court refused to quash the proceedings. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that filing multiple complaints on identical facts in different courts (forum shopping) amounts to abuse of process. The mere failure to keep a commercial promise, without fraudulent intention at inception, does not constitute cheating. The complaint was belated (4 years after events) and suppressed prior complaints, warranting quashing of the FIR.
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