Granting plea bargaining benefit to some accused during trial won’t prejudice others: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has ruled that granting a benefit of plea bargaining to a few accused during a trial will not prejudice the rights of other accused individuals who are defending themselves in the same case. This decision upholds a special court's ruling in a 2016 bank fraud case where four individuals, including three directors of a company, were convicted of criminal conspiracy and cheating, and sentenced to one day's imprisonment and a fine of ₹1.25 lakh each.

The court also dropped the charge of criminal breach of trust against them after they repaid the borrowed amount.

Petitioner R. Chittaranjan Das, the former manager of the Central Bank of India, argued that granting the benefit of plea bargaining to the accused would impact his own defense under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code. However, the High Court dismissed his concern, stating that his apprehension was "hypothetical and cannot be countenanced in law."

The court emphasized that each accused must independently face the prosecution's burden of proving their guilt through cogent evidence, and the admission of guilt by one set of accused does not relieve the prosecution of its responsibility to establish the charges against the remaining accused.