Published on: November 10, 2023 at 12:00 IST
Court: Supreme Court of India
Citation: Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd. V. Girja Shankar Pant (2001)
Honourable Supreme Court of India has defined and equated Malicious Act with intentional act without just cause or excuse. It is essential that accusation of Malicious Act must be substantiated with cogent evidence available on record to come to the conclusion of the malice.
10. The word “bias” in popular English parlance stands included within the attributes and broader purview of the word “malice”, which in common acceptation means and implies “spite” or “ill-will” (Stroud’s Judicial Dictionary, 5th Edn., Vol. 3) and it is now well settled that mere general statements will not be sufficient for the purposes of indication of ill-will. There must be cogent evidence available on record to come to the conclusion as to whether in fact there was existing a bias which resulted in the miscarriage of justice.
11. While it is true that legitimate indignation does not fall within the ambit of malicious act, in almost all legal inquiries, intention, as distinguished from motive is the all-important factor. In common parlance, a malicious act has been equated with intentional act without just cause or excuse.
Drafted By Abhijit Mishra