PRASANNAKUMAR P.T. Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The practice of money lending, according to historians dates back thousands of years. The roots of the said pursuit is traced to the ancient Mesopotamia, regarded by many as the fount of earliest civilizations of the world. Petitioners who were indulging in this ancient practice, allegedly in accordance with law, suddenly found themselves on its wrong side. Alleging that petitioners are doing their business without authority, their offices were raided and documents seized. In this proceeding under Sec. 482 of the Cr.P.C., petitioners question the crime registered against them relating to their business of money lending.

(2.) Petitioners are partners of one M/s.Aditya Finance engaged in the business of hire purchase. On 4/6/2014, the police conducted a search of their establishment under an investigation named "Operation Kubera" and registered a crime as FIR No.1191/2014 before the Ollur Police Station, Thrissur after seizing 598 documents. Petitioners were indicted as accused, alleging offences punishable under Sec. 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC for short), apart from Sec. 18A of the Kerala Money Lenders Act, 1958 (for short, 'the KML Act') as well as Sec. 3 r/w Sec. 9 of the Kerala Prohibition of Charging of Exorbitant Interest Act, 2012 (for short' the Interest Act').

(3.) The FIR alleged that the accused were conducting their business without any legal authorisation, or permissions and that they were cheating the borrowers, apart from charging exorbitant interest for vehicle loans after collecting blank signed cheques, documents and even stamped papers, thus committing the offences alleged.