Supreme Court of India.
Supreme Court “Shocked”, Strips Allahabad High Court Judge Justice Prashant Kumar of Criminal Roster: New Delhi – In an extraordinary move, the Supreme Court has come down heavily on an Allahabad High Court judge, ordering that he be immediately stripped of his criminal roster. The apex court was “shocked” by the judge’s reasoning in a judgment that suggested criminal prosecution could be an acceptable alternative for recovering money in a civil matter.
The Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan made the strong remarks during the hearing of a plea in the case of M/S Shikhar Chemicals v. The State of Uttar Pradesh. The Supreme Court described the Allahabad High Court judge, Justice Prashant Kumar, as demonstrating a “very poor understanding of criminal law” and found his reasoning “untenable.”
The case involved a commercial transaction where M/S Shikhar Chemicals allegedly failed to pay a balance of ₹4,59,385 for a thread supply. The High Court, in its order dated May 5, had dismissed a plea to quash criminal proceedings, arguing that a civil suit would take “years” to conclude and would be an unreasonable burden on the complainant, a small business firm.
Justice Prashant Kumar, Allahabad High Court.
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In its judgment, the High Court had stated: “To be more precise it would seem like good money chasing bad money. If this Court allows the matter to be referred to civil court on account of civil dispute between the parties, it would amount to travesty of justice and O.P. no.2 would suffer irreparable loss.”
The Supreme Court, however, was unequivocal in its condemnation of this logic. “We are shocked by the findings recorded in paragraph 12 of the impugned order,” the bench noted. “The judge has gone to the extent of stating that asking the complainant to pursue civil remedy would be very unreasonable as civil suits take a long time, and therefore the complainant may be permitted to institute criminal proceedings for recovery.”
Without even issuing a notice in the matter, the Supreme Court immediately intervened, setting aside the High Court’s order and remanding the case for fresh consideration by a different judge.
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In an unprecedented step, the apex court requested the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court to not only assign the matter to another judge but also “immediately withdraw the present determination of the concerned judge.”
The Supreme Court went further, issuing a directive that Justice Kumar should not be assigned any criminal determination for the remainder of his tenure. “In any view of the matter, the concerned judge shall not be assigned any criminal determination till he demits office,” the bench ordered. It also stipulated that if he were to sit as a single judge at any point, he should not be assigned any criminal matters.
This stern directive from the Supreme Court underscores the judiciary’s firm stance against the misuse of criminal law to settle civil disputes and highlights the importance of maintaining a clear distinction between the two legal domains. The decision sends a powerful message about judicial accountability and the fundamental principles of criminal jurisprudence.
