Srinagar- No person shall be brought to trial for the same offence, and the same subject matter twice, the High Court of J&K and Ladakh has said and quashed proceedings against the Managing Director of a pharmaceutical company.
“The common principle of law laid down in Section 300 of Cr. P.C read with Article 20 (2) of the Constitution of India is that person once convicted or acquitted for commission of offence cannot be tried subsequently for the same offence,” a bench of Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal while quashing proceedings pending before a court in Srinagar against Kumar Wanchoo, Managing Director M/s Eaton Laboratories Zainakote here.
In other words, the court said, no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.
The court referred in detail the concept of “double jeopardy” in light of a Supreme Court judgement last year.
“The concept of double jeopardy can also be understood in terms of Article 21 of the Constitution of India which states that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law,” the court said, adding, “ ‘Life’ under Article 21 of the Constitution is not merely the physical act of breathing. It does not connote mere animal existence or continued drudgery through life. It has a much wider connotation; it includes the right to live with human dignity.”
Under the umbrella of Article 21, the court said, various rights like right to free legal aid, right to speedy trial, right to fair trial, etc. have been included.
“Similarly, protection against double jeopardy is also included under the scope of Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the court said, adding, “Prosecuting a person for the same offence in same series of facts, for which he has previously either been acquitted or has been convicted and undergone the punishment, affects the person’s right to live with dignity.”
Referring to the case, the court said, “..M/s Eaton Laboratories has been convicted for an offence i.e. manufacture for sale of drug Emlo-A, having batch no. 9159, manufacturing date January 2013, expiry date December 2015 by the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Anantnag. As such, the Petitioner i.e. M/s Eaton Laboratories cannot be tried for commission of offence i.e. manufacture for sale of the drug having same specific manufacturing details, subsequently.”
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