Rosmi Sebastian v. Mather Projects Private Ltd
In the High Court of Kerala
Crl. M.C. 3257/2015
Before Justice B. Kemal Pasha
Decided on September 28, 2015

Relevancy of the case: Whether mediation can solve an issue involving the illegal download of company data.

Statutes & Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 43(b), 66)
• Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (Section 239, 482)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The petitioner was the accused in a criminal case of offences punishable under the IT Act, 2000.
• The petitioner, while working as Sales Officer in the respondent Company, accessed the client database from the official laptop and copied it to the personal hard disc without the permission of the Company.
• The petitioner thus filed a petition requesting that the criminal proceedings be quashed.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel argued that this dispute involved the same family members of the company. Therefore, the matter could be solved through mediation.

Opinion of the Bench

• The bench believed that the seriousness of the matter does not allow the court to refer the case for mediation.
• Further, it opined that determining the correctness of the allegations requires evidence. Hence, if the parties have reached a settlement privately, they can seek the same relief under the Criminal Procedure Code.

Final Decision

• The bench dismissed the petition, however, allowed the petitioner to file an application for the discharge of parties under the CrPC.

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