Shashikant G. Badani vs Securities And Exchange Board Of India on 17 June, 2004
In Mohansingh v. Bhanwarlal AIR 1964 SC 1366 Hon'ble Supreme Court had held that "the onus of establishing corrupt practice is undoubtedly on the person who sets it up and the onus is not discharged on proof of mere preponderance of probability as in the trial of a civil suit: the corrupt practice must be established beyond reasonable doubt by evidence which is clear and unambiguous..." The same principle has been endorsed in Razikram v. J.S. Chowhan AIR 1975 SC 667 which is also an election petition as in the case of Mohansingh v. Bhanwarlal. The learned counsel wanted to argue on the basis of these cases that even in civil proceedings when a charge like fraud or corruption is levelled, it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt and not on the basis of preponderance of probability.We find however that in all these 3 cases the dispute was between two parties and the Hon'ble Supreme Court has only enunciated the well-known principle of juris prudence that a charge must be proved beyond reasonable doubt by the party setting up the charge. In the present case, the charge has been levelled by the official regulator of the Union of India in due discharge of its duties.