# MIS. HARYANA STATE COOP. SUPPLY AND MARKETING A .,, FEDERATION LTD v. MIS. JAYAM TEXTILES & ANR

- **Citation:** [2014] 5 S.C.R. 77
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 2014-04-07
- **Case number:** Criminal Appeal No. 833 of 2014
- **Bench:** P. Sathasivam, RANJAN GOGOi, N.V. Ramana
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/mis-haryana-state-coop-supply-and-marketing-a-federation-ltd-v-mis-jayam-30126
- **Pages:** 8

## Headnote

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 - ss. 138 and 140 - c
Penal Code, 1860 - s.420 - Cheques issued by respondents
dishonoured - Complaints filed by appellant-federation -
Dismissed by Magistrate - Appeals dismissed by High Court,
solely on the ground that 'authorisation' was not produced by
the complainant-appellant - High Court held that 'D', claiming D
to be the power of attorney holder of the appellant-Federation,
had no locus standi to file the complaints/appeals as he had
failed to prove that appellant-Federation had authorised him
to file the same - Plea of appellant-Federation before
Supreme Court that in fact there was an authorisation from the E
Board of Directors of the Federation, but the same was not
filed along with the complaint - Held: Though authorisation by
the Board of Directors of appellant-Federation was not placed
before the Courts below, but, specific averment was made by
appe/lant~Federation before the Magistrate that the said F
General Power of Attorney had been filed in a connected case,
which is neither denied nor disputed by the respondents - In
any case, if the Courts below were not satisfied, an opportunity
ought to have been granted to appellant-Federation to place
the document containing authorisation on record and prove
G
the same in accordance with law - Procedural defects and
irregularities, which are curable, should not be allowed to
defeat substantive rights or to cause injustice - Moreover,
inspite of arbitration award against the respondents, there was
non-payment of amount to appellant-Federation - Opportunity
H
77
78
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 5 S.C.R.
A should be given to appellant-Federation to produce and prove
the authorisation before the Trial Court, more so, when money
involved is public money - Matters remitted back to Trial Court
with direction to conduct trial afresh.
8
The appellant-Federation supplied cotton bales to the
respondents. The respondents, to discharge their
liability, issued four cheques. However, on presentation,
all the four cheques were returned unpaid by the bank
'for want of sufficient funds'. The appellant-Federation
filed complaints under Section 138 and 140 of the
C Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 read with Section 420
IPC against the respondents. The complaints were
dismissed by the Judicial Magistrate and the appeals filed
against the said order were dismissed vide impugned
judgment passed by the High Court, solely on the ground
D that 'authorisation' was not produced by the
complainant-appellant. The High Court held that 'D',
claiming to be the power of attorney holder of the
appellant-Federation, had no locus standi to file the
complaints/appeals as he had failed to prove that the
E appellant-Federation had authorised him to file the same.
The appellant-Federation contended before this
Court that in fact there was an authorisation from the
Board of Directors of the Federation, but the same was
F not filed along with the complaint and on account of this
reason only, the complaint was dismissed.
Disposing of the appeals and the interlocutory
applications, the Court
G
HELD: 1. Admittedly, authorisation by the Board of
Directors of the appellant-Federation was not placed
before the Courts below. But, a specific averment was
made by the appellant-Federation before the Judicial
Magistrate that the said General Power of Attorney has
H been filed in connected case being CC No. 1409/1995,
HARYANA STATE COOP. SUPPLY AND MKT. FED.
79
LTD. v. JAYAM TEXTILES
which has neither been denied nor disputed by the A
respondents. In any case, if the Courts below were not
satisfied, an opportunity ought to have been granted to
the appellant-Federation to place the document
containing authorisation on record and prove the same
in accordance with law. This is so beeause procedural B
defects and irregularities, which are curable, should not
be allowed to defeat substantive rights or to cause
injustice. Procedure, a hand-maiden to justice, should
never be made a tool to deny j

## Text

[2014] 5 S.C.R. 77 ·
MIS. HARYANA STATE COOP. SUPPLY AND MARKETING A
.,,
FEDERATION LTD .
v.
MIS. JAYAM TEXTILES & ANR.
(Criminal Appeal No. 833 of 2014)
APRIL 07, 2014
B
[P. SATHASIVAM, CJI, RANJAN GOGOi AND
N.V. RAMANA, JJ.]
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 - ss. 138 and 140 - c
Penal Code, 1860 - s.420 - Cheques issued by respondents
dishonoured - Complaints filed by appellant-federation -
Dismissed by Magistrate - Appeals dismissed by High Court,
solely on the ground that 'authorisation' was not produced by
the complainant-appellant - High Court held that 'D', claiming D
to be the power of attorney holder of the appellant-Federation,
had no locus standi to file the complaints/appeals as he had
failed to prove that appellant-Federation had authorised him
to file the same - Plea of appellant-Federation before
Supreme Court that in fact there was an authorisation from the E
Board of Directors of the Federation, but the same was not
filed along with the complaint - Held: Though authorisation by
the Board of Directors of appellant-Federation was not placed
before the Courts below, but, specific averment was made by
appe/lant~Federation before the Magistrate that the said F
General Power of Attorney had been filed in a connected case,
which is neither denied nor disputed by the respondents - In
any case, if the Courts below were not satisfied, an opportunity
ought to have been granted to appellant-Federation to place
the document containing authorisation on record and prove
G
the same in accordance with law - Procedural defects and
irregularities, which are curable, should not be allowed to
defeat substantive rights or to cause injustice - Moreover,
inspite of arbitration award against the respondents, there was
non-payment of amount to appellant-Federation - Opportunity
H
77
78
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 5 S.C.R.
A should be given to appellant-Federation to produce and prove
the authorisation before the Trial Court, more so, when money
involved is public money - Matters remitted back to Trial Court
with direction to conduct trial afresh.
8
The appellant-Federation supplied cotton bales to the
respondents. The respondents, to discharge their
liability, issued four cheques. However, on presentation,
all the four cheques were returned unpaid by the bank
'for want of sufficient funds'. The appellant-Federation
filed complaints under Section 138 and 140 of the
C Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 read with Section 420
IPC against the respondents. The complaints were
dismissed by the Judicial Magistrate and the appeals filed
against the said order were dismissed vide impugned
judgment passed by the High Court, solely on the ground
D that 'authorisation' was not produced by the
complainant-appellant. The High Court held that 'D',
claiming to be the power of attorney holder of the
appellant-Federation, had no locus standi to file the
complaints/appeals as he had failed to prove that the
E appellant-Federation had authorised him to file the same.
The appellant-Federation contended before this
Court that in fact there was an authorisation from the
Board of Directors of the Federation, but the same was
F not filed along with the complaint and on account of this
reason only, the complaint was dismissed.
Disposing of the appeals and the interlocutory
applications, the Court
G
HELD: 1. Admittedly, authorisation by the Board of
Directors of the appellant-Federation was not placed
before the Courts below. But, a specific averment was
made by the appellant-Federation before the Judicial
Magistrate that the said General Power of Attorney has
H been filed in connected case being CC No. 1409/1995,
HARYANA STATE COOP. SUPPLY AND MKT. FED.
79
LTD. v. JAYAM TEXTILES
which has neither been denied nor disputed by the A
respondents. In any case, if the Courts below were not
satisfied, an opportunity ought to have been granted to
the appellant-Federation to place the document
containing authorisation on record and prove the same
in accordance with law. This is so beeause procedural B
defects and irregularities, which are curable, should not
be allowed to defeat substantive rights or to cause
injustice. Procedure, a hand-maiden to justice, should
never be made a tool to deny justice or perpetuate
injustice, by any oppressive or punitive use. [Para 7] [83- c
E-H; 84-A]
Uday Shankar Triyar Vs. Ram Kalewar Prasad Singh
(2006) 1 SCC 75: 2005 (5) Suppl. SCR 157 - relied on.
2. In view of the fact that inspite of arbitration award D
against the respondents, there was non-payment of
amount by the respondents to the appellant-Federation,
and also in the light of authorisation contained in
Annexure-P/7, the extracts of the meeting of the Board of
Directors of the Federation held on 15.04.1976, an E
opportunity should be given to the appellant-Federation
to produce and prove the authorisation before the Trial
Court, more so, when money involved is public money.
The matters are remitted back to the Trial Court with a
direction to conduct trial afresh taking into consideration
F
the authorisation placed before this Court. [Para 8] [84- .
B-D]
Case Law Reference:
2005 (5) Suppl. SCR 157
relied on
Para 8
CRIMINAL AP PELLA TE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal
No. 833 of 2014.
From the Judgment and Order dated 18.06.2007 of the
G
High Court of Madras in CRLAP No. 348 of 2001.
H
A
B
80
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 5 S.C.R.
WITH
Criminal Appeal No. 834 of 2014.
Umang Shankar, Ravneet Joshi, Ugra Shankar Prasad for
the Appellant.
R. Basant, B. Raghunath and Vijay Kumar for the
Respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
C
N.V. RAMANA, J. 1. Leave granted.
2. The present appeals have been filed against the
judgment dated 18.06.2007 passed by the High Court of
Judicature at Madras in Crl. A. Nos. 348 and 410 of 2001
thereby dismissing the said appeals on the ground that Mr.
D
Davinder Kumar Lal, claiming to be the power of attorney holder
of the appellant-Federation, has no locus standi to file the
complaints/appeals as he has failed to prove that the AppellantFederation had authorised him to file the same.
E
3. The facts of the two appeals are - the appellantFederation supplied cotton bales to the respondents of the
value of Rs.30.45,602/- vide three invoices dated 19.12.1994,
21.12.1994 and 20.01.1995. The respondents, to discharge
their liability, issued in total four cheques - two cheques for Rs.5
F
lakhs each dated 16.01.1995 and 20.01.1995 respectively and
two cheques for Rs. 11 lakhs each dated 20.01.1995 and
25.01.1995 respectively. However, on presentation, all the said
four cheques were returned unpaid by the bank with an
endorsement 'for want of sufficient funds'. The appellantG Federation sent legal notice(s) dated 19.04.1995 and
27.04.1995 under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments
Act, 1881 (for short, 'the N.I. Act'), which were duly received by
the respondents. On failure of the respondents to pay the
amount within the stipulated time of 15 days from the date of
H receipt of the notice, the appellant-Federation filed complaints
HARYANA STATE COOP. SUPPLY AND MKT. FED.
81
LTD. v. JAYAM TEXTILES [N.V. RAMANA, J.]
under Section 138 and 140 of the N.I. Act read with Section
A
420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, 'the l.P.C.')
against the respondents. The said complaints were dismissed
by the Judicial Magistrate vide order dated 07.02.2001 and the
appeals filed against the said order were dismissed vide
impugned judgment dated 18.06.2007, solely on the ground that
B
the 'authorisation' was not produced by the complainantappellant.
4. It is submitted by the counsel for the appellantFederation that in fact there was an authorisation from the Board
C
· · of Directors of the Federation, but unfortunately, the same was
not filed along with the complaint and on account of this reason
only, the complaint was dismissed, and as a matter of record,
the said authorisation delegating powers was passed in the
meeting of the Federation on 15th April, 1976 and an
opportunity to the appellant-Federation could have been
D
afforded by the Courts below to furnish the authorisation,
particularly when the appellant-Federation is a Public Sector
Undertaking and money which has to be paid by the
respondents is public money. In support of his submission,
learned counsel has drawn our attention to Annexure-P/7, the
E
extracts of the meeting of the Board of Directors of the
Federation held on 15.04.1976, which. are in the following
terms:
"14 DELEGATION OF POWERS
F
The Board of Directors of the Haryana State Co-operative
Supply and Marketing Federation in their meeting held on
15.4.1976 resolved to delegate the following powers to the
authorities mentioned against each and to the extent
indicated as under.
G
Delegation of Powers to various officers of the Federation.
H
A
B
c
D
E
F
G
82
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 5 S.C.R.
Sr.
Nature of Powers
Authority to
Extent
No.
whom
of powers
delegated
1
2
3
4
(A) Administration
1 to 23 xx
xx
xx
24. Institution and defence of legal proceeding etc.
i)
To institute, conduct,
M.D.
Full Power·
defend, compromise,
refer to arbitration and
abandon legal or other
proceedings and claims
and also to file appeals,
revisions, review petitions
and executing by and
against the Federation
and also to engage lawyers
for that purpose from time
to time.
ii)
To give general power of
M.D.
Full Power
attorney to any person I
officer for conducting the
cases in Courts etc.
(B) Financial Administration
25 o Category B
xx xx
xx"
5. Learned counsel for the appellant-Federation further
submitted that it is in pursuance of the above-said delegation
of powers to the Managing Director, the general power of
attorney in question was executed by him authorising Mr.
H Davinder Kumar Lal to take civil and criminal action against the
HARYANA STATE COOP. SUPPLY AND MKT. FED.
83
LTD. v. JAYAM TEXTILES [N.V. RAMANA, J.]
defaulters including the respondents herein. He, therefore,
A
prayed to remit back the matter to the Trial Court with a direction
to consider the whole issue taking into consideration the
authorisation delegating powers to the Managing Director as
passed by the appellant-Federation in its meeting held on 15th
April, 1976.
B
6. Learned senior counsel for the respondents, on the other
hand, contended that several years have already been passed
in the litigation and despite sufficient opportunity has been
granted by the Courts below, the appellant-Federation has
failed to produce authorisation and hence there is no reason
C
for this Court to interfere at this stage. When the matter was
·· listed before us on 11.03.2014, a specific query was, however,
put to the learned senior counsel appearing for the respondents
as to whether the respondents have paid the amounts which
are due and payable to the appellant-Federation. It was
D
submitted, on instructions, that, in fact, arbitration had taken
place and even the award had been passed against the
respondents, but the respondents have not complied with the
terms of the award so far.
E
7. Having heard learned coun·sel for the parties and after
perusing the material on record, we find that admittedly
authorisation by the Board of Directors of the appellantFederation was not placed before the Courts below. But, we
may notice that a specific averment was made by the appellantF
Federation before the learned Judicial Magistrate that the said
General Power of Attorney has been filed in connected case
being CC No. 1409/1995, which has neither been denied nor
disputed by the respondents. In any case, in our opinion, if the
Courts below were not satisfied, an opportunity ought to have
G
been granted to the appellant-Federation to place the document
containing authorisation on record and prove the same in
accordance with law. This is so because procedural defects
and irregularities, which are curable, should not be allowed to
defeat substantive rights or to cause injustice. Procedure, a
H
84
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 5 S.C.R.
A hand-maiden to justice, should never be made a tool to deny
justice or perpetuate injustice, by any oppressive or punitive
use. {See Uday Shankar Triyar Vs. Ram Ka/ewar Prasad
Singh, (2006) 1 sec 75}.
8
8. In view of the fact that in spite of arbitration award
against the respondents, there was non-payment of amount by
the respondents to the appellant-Federation, and also in the light
of authorisation contained in Annexure-P/7, we are of the
opinion that, in the facts and circumstances of the case, an
C opportunity should be given to the appellant-Federation to
produce and prove the authorisation before the Trial Court,
more so, when money involved is public money. We, therefore,
set aside the judgments of the Courts below and remit the
matters back to the Trial Court with a direction to conduct trial
afresh taking into consideration the authorisation placed before
D us and dispose of the matter as expeditiously as possible in
accordance with law.
E
9. The appeals and the interlocutory applications stand
disposed of accordingly.
Bibhuti Bhushan Bose
Appeals & IAs disposed of.