M/S Indian Oil Corporation vs M/S Nepc India Ltd., & Ors on 20 July, 2006
16. It is relevant to rely upon the judgment made by the
Honourable Supreme Court of India in the case of M/s. Indian Oil
Corporation Vs. NEPC India Limited and others reported in (2006)
6 SCC 736, held that the civil liability cannot be converted into
criminal liability and it is necessary to take notice of a growing
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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis ( Uploaded on: 21/04/2025 04:34:55 pm )
Crl.OP.No.16423 of 2023
tendency in business circle to convert purely civil dispute in criminal
case. This is obviously on account of prevalent impression that civil
law remedies are time consuming and do not adequately protect the
interest of lender/creditors. Such a tendency is seen in several family
disputes also, leading to irretrievable breakdown of
marriages/families. There is also an impression that if a person could
somehow be entangled in a criminal prosecution, there is a likelihood
of imminent settlement. Any effort to settle civil disputes and claim
which do not involve any criminal offence by applying pressure
through criminal prosecution should be deprecated and dishonoured.