The Madras High Court has discharged K Rajagopal, Chief Executive Officer of the Royapettah Benefit Fund (RBF) Limited, from a criminal case pending before the trial court.
Justice S Vimala ordered the discharge, while allowing a criminal revision petition from Rajagopal, recently. The charge against the petitioner was that he had transferred the company funds from Mauritius Bank to the State Bank of Travancore, which resulted in a loss of Rs 21,250 to the RBF towards interest.
His counsel, Abudu Kumar Rajarathinam, submitted that the petitioner, in his capacity as CEO and joint account holder of the company, acted in response to a resolution passed the Board of Directors of RBF. Transfer of funds resulting in reduction of interest could not be construed as amounting to wrongful loss. All loss need not be wrongful loss.
Even assuming that the act resulted in a harm, when it was done without any criminal intention and to prevent other harm, the same would not be an offence.
Accepting the arguments of Kumar, the judge observed that the petitioner was not at all responsible for the action taken. When the financial position of the foreign bank was crumbling, there was a necessity to choose a bank that would give safety to the investment than a bank that would offer higher rate of interest.
In the absence of any allegation which would make out an offence under Sections 406 and 420 IPC, the accused could not be ordered to face the trial. Therefore it was a fit case where the trial court itself ought to have ordered the discharge of the petitioner, the judge said and accordingly, discharged Rajagopal from the case.