The appellant, Hyeoksoo Son, representing Daechang Seat Automotive Pvt. Ltd., challenged the judgment of the Karnataka High Court dated 19 February 2024, which had quashed criminal proceedings and the charge sheet in C.C. No. 8373 of 2023 arising out of Crime No. 287 of 2022 at Sanjay Nagar Police Station, Bengaluru. The case involved allegations of financial fraud and criminal breach of trust by company officials and external advisors.

The complaint alleged that the company, on the advice of N.K. Associates, transferred over ₹10.18 crore purportedly towards GST payments, which were instead diverted to entities controlled by the accused. An internal inquiry revealed that no GST liability existed and that the funds were misappropriated. The accused included Nikhil K.S., Ritesh Merugu, Vinay Babu Venugopal, and Anushka Singh. The respondent, Moon June Seok, a company executive, was also implicated for having allegedly received ₹1.8 crore in cash from a co-accused.

The High Court quashed the proceedings under Section 482 CrPC, holding that the respondent was only a forwarding agent without a substantive role in the misappropriation. It found no prima facie evidence against him and accepted his explanation regarding the money as personal transactions.

The Supreme Court, however, held that the High Court exceeded its jurisdiction by evaluating the sufficiency of evidence at the pre-trial stage. The Court observed that both the respondent and co-accused had given corroborative statements acknowledging the transfer of ₹1.8 crore, thereby indicating a prima facie link. Relying on State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal and Neeharika Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Maharashtra, it ruled that quashing was unjustified when material evidence required trial examination.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court’s order, restored C.C. No. 8373 of 2023 to the file of the III Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Bengaluru, and directed the parties to appear before the trial court on 16 April 2025.