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Charge Of Criminal/Quasi-Criminal Nature Can’t Be Allowed To Hang Over The Head Of A Citizen Indefinitely

In Surendralal Girdharilal Mehta vs Union of India & Ors., the objection of the petitioner before the Calcutta High Court was that a show cause notice was issued against Girdharilal Mehta (since deceased) and against one S.C. Mehta under Section 50 of the FERA calling upon the noticees to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on them under the said Act for alleged contravention of Section 8 (1) of FERA read with Sections 64(2) and 51 thereof. There is no one by the name of S.C. Mehta in the petitioner’s family. No further step beyond issuance of the show cause notice has been taken by the respondent authorities. The petitioner therefore prayed for quashing of the show cause notice on the ground of inordinate delay in proceeding with the adjudication arising out of the said show cause notice causing worry, anxiety, expenses and disturbance to his vocation and peace of mind.

The Calcutta High Court referring to several judgments and quashing the notice held that it was incumbent upon the respondent authorities to diligently proceed with the adjudication and come to a conclusion at an early date. A charge of a criminal or quasi- criminal nature cannot be allowed to hang over the head of a citizen indefinitely without the concerned authority coming to a conclusion as to whether or not there is substance in the charge. Just as a person against whom a quasi-criminal charge has been brought is liable to be punished if the charge is proved, equally, he is entitled to be exonerated of the charge if the charge cannot be established with proper evidence. Either way, the decision must be reached within a reasonable period of time. This is in public interest and is essential to preserve public confidence in the adjudication process. The prejudices that a charged person suffers by reason of undue long pendency of a proceeding against him are many fold as noted in some of the decisions discussed above.

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