BHUPINDER SINGH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is facing proceedings under Section 408 of Indian Penal Code and has preferred this revision petition against charge framed against him. Allegation against the petitioner is that while working as Secretary of Cooperative Agricultural Service Society, Maland, an amount of Rs. 1,28,585.50 was entrusted to him but he committed criminal breach of trust and thus, committed offence. The petitioner received the amount from a debtor of the Society but did not enter the same in the account books. The matter was referred to Arbitrator and the Arbitrator passed the award against tile petitioner on 19.1.1989. Criminal proceeding were also pending simultaneously.

(2.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner submitted that once arbitration award has been made, the proceedings will stand transformed into civil proceedings and criminal proceedings could not continue. He placed reliance on a judgment of this Court in Kashmira Singh v. The State of Punjab, 1989 CC Cases 119.

(3.) A Division Bench of this Court in State of Haryana v. Nawabuddin Khan, 1997 Criminal Law Journal 1629, after referring to the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Pratibha Rani v. Suraj Kumar and another, 1985(1) RCR(Criminal) 539 : AIR 1985 SC 628, held that criminal law and civil law can run side by side and two remedies are not mutually exclusive. In Trisuns Chemical Industry v. Rajesh Agarwal and others, 1999(4) RCR(Crl.) 223 (SC) : (1999)8 SCC 686, it was observed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that merely because an act has 'civil profile' is not enough to stop action on criminal side.