The Hindu Business Line : No crime registration for offence under Section 36 AD: HC

Kochi, Oct 13 , The Kerala High Court has held that the police cannot register any crime for the offence under Section 36 AD of the Banking Regulation Act.

Section 36 AD

The Section 36 AD prescribes punishment for certain activities in the banking companies.

The Section says that no person shall obstruct any person from lawfully entering or leaving any office or place of business of a banking company or from carrying on any business there.

The Section prohibits demonstrations which is violent and prevents transaction of normal business by the banks or actions calculated to undermine the confidence of the depositors.

The Section further says that whoever contravenes the provision shall be punishable with imprisonment for terms up to six months or a fine of Rs 1,000.

Non-congnisable offence

The Bench comprising Mr Justice K. Balakrishnan Nair and Mr Justice T.R. Ramachandran Nair held that since the maximum punishment was only six months imprisonment, it was a non-cognisable offence.

As long as the offence under Section 36 AD was a non-cognisable offence, the police could not register any crime against committing such an offence on the information given by a bank or investigate the same.

The police could not take preventive action in the matter of such offence as well, the Bench observed.

The court held that if anybody was holding demonstration in violation of any provisions of law or infringing any rights, it could move a competent civil court and obtain an order of injunction against them.

This court could not confer on the police the jurisdiction to deal with such matter in the absence of any statutory provisions authorising them to do the same.

ING VYSYA PLEA

The petition was filed by ING Vysya Bank seeking a direction to the police to provide police protection for their branches in the State.

The bank filed the petition as they feared that a few nurses, who alleged that they were not given placement in the US as promised by the placement agency and the bank, would demonstrate before the bank branches.

The bank also sought a direction to the police to take steps to restrain the nurses from agitating with in 100 metres of the premises of the bank branches.

Dismissing the petition, the Bench said that no statute had been brought to its notice prohibiting demonstrations within 100 metres of a scheduled bank and entrustment of its enforcement with the police.

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