You take a loan in your State. You live there. There is a default or a dispute regarding repayment.

Then a criminal complaint appears against you in a place a thousand kilometres away.

We have come across many clients who have faced this very difficulty.

What began as a loan, repayment or commercial dispute is sometimes presented as cheating, criminal breach of trust or forgery.

The person then has to travel to another State, arrange legal representation and attend proceedings far away from where the original transaction took place.

The financial dispute is one thing. Defending a criminal case in a distant jurisdiction is another.

A default in repayment does not, by itself amount to cheating. A dispute over a financial or contractual obligation does not become criminal merely because allegations of cheating or breach of trust are added to the complaint.

The ingredients of the alleged offence still have to be established.

The Apex Court has repeatedly cautioned against giving a criminal colour to disputes which are essentially civil or commercial in nature, particularly where the criminal process is being used as a means of exerting pressure for recovery.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with seeking recovery of money through the remedies available in law. But recovery and prosecution are not the same thing. A person may be liable to repay a debt without necessarily having committed a criminal offence.

Shylock may still demand his pound of flesh. But the criminal court is not the place where every unpaid debt is brought to collect it. Before the criminal process is set in motion, there has to be something more than a debt that remains unpaid. There has to be an offence made out in law.

Disclaimer: This is a general academic discussion based on practical observations and does not refer to any particular person, company or proceeding. The views expressed are general in nature and subject to the facts, circumstances and applicable law in each individual case.

#CriminalLaw #CriminalLitigation #CommercialDisputes #FinancialDisputes #LoanDisputes #Jurisdiction #CriminalProceedings #CivilVsCriminal #SupremeCourt #CourtPractice #LegalPractice #WestBengalAdvocates #KolkataLawyers #KolkataAdvocates #CalcuttaHighCourt #WestBengalLaw #LegalProfession #Litigation #LitigationLawyer #CriminalLawyer #AdvocatesOfKolkata #GSLegal #GSLegalAssociates #KolkataLegalPractice