Companies can be victims in criminal cases, rules SC

In a ruling that could fundamentally reshape corporate rights in criminal litigation, the Supreme Court has held that companies can be considered “victims” under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and are entitled to appeal acquittals, even in cases where the state does not pursue one.

- Utkarsh Anand

A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra allowed an appeal filed by Asian Paints Ltd, setting aside a Rajasthan High Court order that rejected its right to challenge the acquittal of an individual accused of selling counterfeit paint under its brand name. “This is a neat question of law of significance namely, as to whether the appellant would fall under the definition of ‘victim’ in terms of Section 2(wa) read with the proviso to Section 372 of the CrPC... We are of the considered opinion that the High Court erred in holding otherwise,” held the bench on Monday.

The dispute arose in 2016, when a market investigation by an intellectual property rights (IPR) consultancy firm engaged by Asian Paints uncovered fake products bearing the company's trademark at a shop named “Ganpati Traders” in Tunga, Rajasthan. The shop was operated by Ram Babu, and 12 buckets of allegedly counterfeit paint were seized during a police raid.