The Supreme Court has stated that “no roving enquiry is permissible” against managers of a company which is accused of committing an offence. It should be specifically alleged that the accused executive was in charge of the day to day affairs of the company. An obligation rests on the prosecution to give details so that the persons responsible for the offence are identified and the trial proceeds only against them. In this case, Subhankar Biswas vs Sandeep Mehta, the chairman and the deputy general manager of the company were named in a complaint under the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules. They moved the Calcutta high court against the prosecution, arguing that they were not directly responsible for the offence. The high court quashed the prosecution of the chairman as it found that he was not directly connected with the daily conduct of the company. However, the deputy general manager was not exonerated. He moved the Supreme Court, stating that he was roped in with a vague allegation, and he was not directly in charge of the business. The Supreme Court set aside his trial observing that the cases of the chairman and the manager stood on the same footing and the complaint did not specify their definite roles in commission of the offence. - www.business-standard.com
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