Home Case Index All Cases Customs Customs + HC Customs - 2018 (10) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2018 (10) TMI 228 - HC - CustomsClaim of damage for loss of job and mental disturbance due to Customs Investigation Proceedings - Company secretary being CFO - Validity of statement made in quasi-judicial proceedings by the MD of the company against the CFO - the Plaintiff alleges a tort of malicious implication, which has no basis. The defendant alleges that the Plaintiff alleges malicious prosecution, the preconditions of which are not satisfied. Obviously, the tort is not well identified in the Plaint - whether there is any tort made out in the present case, the nature of the proceedings needs to be considered? - Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962. Held that:- The pleadings in the amended suit primarily relate to an allegation of malicious implication resulting in loss of reputation. Thus, the allegation is one of defamation and nothing more, though the Plaint is not happily worded. The Plaintiff does not allege malicious prosecution and further, the elements of malicious prosecution are not made out - Malicious implication is nothing but wrongful implication leading to loss of reputation i.e. defamation/libel/slander. There is no other tort of malicious implication which can be separately sued for. The Plaintiff has not been able to show any judgment where the so called tort of malicious implication has resulted in a cause of action. The Plaintiff has merely relied upon judgments to argue that the question of limitation is a mixed question of facts and law. This Court has already held that the suit is not barred by limitation. The question is whether the suit is otherwise barred. In the present case, all the statements which are relied upon which form the basis of cause of action in the suit having been made before DRI officials/Customs Authorities, in statements recorded under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962. There is no publication of the said statements. Mr. Oike in fact having also retracted the same, no case of defamation is made out. As per the settled law, statements made in judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings before courts, authorities and tribunals are protected as being privileged. A suit for defamation on the basis of statements in such proceedings is clearly not maintainable. There is yet another dimension to this whole case. The Plaintiff is neither an uneducated nor an illiterate person who is not aware of the consequences of his actions of claiming experience in handling issues before the Customs Authorities and was also quite adept. The CFO of a company has enormous responsibility. The Plaintiff was responsible for legal and secretarial compliances in the Defendant company. Even if the Plaintiff had got wind of an alleged conspiracy by the Japanese officials, as is pleaded in the plaint, he had a duty to warn the Defendant company and its officials that the classification of machinery as dairy machinery instead of capital machinery would be contrary to law. Moreover, the Plaintiff not only did not warn the management of the Defendant but also went ahead and claimed the savings of the customs duty as a feather in his cap in his appraisal report. This shows that to say the least, he was not an innocent bystander. The statements made in quasi-judicial proceedings before the Customs Authorities cannot be held to be defamation/libel/slander. There is no tort made out in the present suit and the suit for compensation is not maintainable, in view of the settled law - plaint is rejected.
|