Karnataka High Court
Shri. Willy Ko vs The State Of Karnataka on 10 July, 2025
Author: M.Nagaprasanna
Bench: M.Nagaprasanna
-1-
NC: 2025:KHC:25148
CRL.P No. 9685 of 2023
HC-KAR
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 10TH DAY OF JULY, 2025
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA
CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 9685 OF 2023
BETWEEN:
1. SHRI. WILLY KO,
S/O MR. KO FOOK YUEN,
AGED ABOUT 66 YEARS,
PRESENTLY RESIDING AT: 46, LENGKONG,
TUJOH # 02-25, SINGAPORE-417396
(DESCRIPTION IN THE COMPLAINT)
SHRI WILLY KO, CEO,
AIR INDIA SATS AIRPORT SERVICES PVT. LTD.,
C/O AIR INDIA BOOKING OFFICE,
HAT HILL ROAD, LALBAGH,
MANGALORE-575003.
...PETITIONER
(BY SRI. MURTHY D NAIK, SENIOR COUNSEL FOR
SRI. KEERTI KUMAR.,ADVOCATE)
Digitally signed
by NAGAVENI AND:
Location: High
1. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA,
Court of
Karnataka REP. BY LABOUR ENFORECEMENT
OFFICER (CENTRAL),
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA,
MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT,
RAILWAY STATION ROAD,
MANGALORE 575501.
REP. BY SPP, HIGH COURT BUILDING,
BANGALORE-560001.
...RESPONDENT
(BY SRI.TEJESH P., HCGP)
-2-
NC: 2025:KHC:25148
CRL.P No. 9685 of 2023
HC-KAR
THIS CRL.P is FILED U/S.482 CR.P.C BY THE ADVOCATE
FOR THE PETITIONER PRAYING THAT THIS HONOURABLE
COURT MAY BE PLEASED TO A. QUASH THE PROCEEDINGS IN
C.C.NO.1777/2015 FOR THE OFFENCE P/U/S.23 OF CONTRACT
LABOUR (REGULATION AND ABOLITION) ACT 1970 VIDE
ANNEXURE A PENDING ON THE FILE OF THE JMFC II COURT,
MANGALURU AND ETC.
THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ADMISSION, THIS DAY,
ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER:
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA
ORAL ORDER
Petitioner is before this Court calling in question the
proceedings in C.C.No.1777/2015 registered for offences
punishable under Section 23 of the Contract Labour (Regulation
and Abolition) Act, 1970 (herein after referred to as 'Act' for
short).
2. Heard the learned Senior Counsel Sri.Murty D Naik
for Sri.Keerti Kumar, learned counsel appearing for the
petitioner and the learned HCGP representing the State and
have perused the material on record.
3. Facts in brief germane are as follows:
NC: 2025:KHC:25148
HC-KAR
(a) A complaint comes to be registered against the
petitioner alleging offences punishable under Section 23 of the
Act before the concerned Court on the score that the petitioner
is undertaking contract work through 70 contract labourers on
08.03.2015 without obtaining license and thereby, violates
section 12(1) of the Act and therefore, it springs as an offense
under Section 23 of the Act.
4. Learned Senior Counsel submits that the complaint
so registered, suffers from the threshold bar as the Company is
not made a party while making the Chief Executive Officer of
the Company as a party to the proceedings. The learned
counsel would submit that the issue in the lis stands answered
by plethora of judgments rendered by the Apex Court as
followed by this Court. He would particularly place reliance
upon the judgment in the case of MICHIEL M. VAN DER
MAAT AND ANOTHER vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA, 2023
SCC OnLine Kar 467, wherein at paragraph No.4, it is
observed as under:
"4. For the very reasons so rendered by the Apex
Court in the case of DAYLE DE'SOUZA (supra), these
petitions also deserve to succeed, as admittedly, the
NC: 2025:KHC:25148
HC-KAR
Company is not made a party in terms of Section 25 of
the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act,
1970. Therefore, the proceedings so instituted by the
State would be rendered untenable in the light of the
judgment of the Apex Court, as afore-quoted and
therefore, are required to be obliterated."
5. For the aforesaid reasons, the following:
ORDER
(i) Criminal Petition is allowed.
(ii) Impugned proceedings in C.C.No.1777/2015
instituted against the petitioner pending on the file of the JMFC
II Court, Mangaluru, stand quashed.
(iii) Obliteration of the proceedings would not come in
the way of the State initiating the said proceedings in
accordance with law.
Sd/-
(M.NAGAPRASANNA)
JUDGE
CBC
