Karnataka HC Quashes Four Labour Cases Against Sandalwood Mall, Citing Its Reply That It Did Not Operate At Inspected Address

The Senior Labour Inspector inspected premises at Level 3, Concorde Block, UB City, Bengaluru, and alleged that mandatory registers under the Minimum Wages Act and related requirements had not been maintained.

A show-cause notice followed. The petitioners replied that Sandalwood Mall Management Pvt. Ltd. was not operating at the inspected premises, where a group company, JLL, was operating; they also asserted that the relevant registers were maintained at the company’s registered office.

Criminal complaints were subsequently filed, resulting in four proceedings before the Metropolitan Magistrate, Traffic Court-IV, Bengaluru.

The petitioners sought to quash those proceedings under Article 227 of the Constitution read with Section 482 CrPC.

The petitions invoked the High Court’s jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution read with Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to challenge the criminal proceedings.

The Court applied the principle that proceedings may be quashed where their continuation, on the material before the Court, would amount to an abuse of the process of law.

The order cites no specific statutory provision governing the alleged register-keeping violations and relies on no precedent.

The Court considered the petitioners’ written reply to the show-cause notice, which stated that Sandalwood Mall Management Pvt. Ltd. did not operate at the inspected address and that another group company operated there.

The State’s counsel did not dispute that the reply had been issued, and the Court found no other material on record warranting further prosecution of the petitioners for the alleged violations.

In those circumstances, it concluded that continuing the criminal cases would amount to an abuse of process.

The Court quashed the proceedings in C.C. Nos. 10971/2023, 10969/2023, 10968/2023 and 10970/2023, respectively, insofar as they related to the petitioners in the corresponding writ petitions.