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TMI Blog2015 (4) TMI 414X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Judicature of Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad by which the High Court has in exercise of powers under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in short Cr.P.C.) quashed the proceedings in CC No. 37 of 2008 on the file of the court of the Special Judge for Economic Offences at Hyderabad insofar as the accused Nos. A4, A5, A6, A9 and A10 are concerned. 2. The complainant i.e. the appellant herein lodged a private complaint in his capacity as a Promoter Director of Sri Satyanarayana Power Private Ltd. - a company incorporated to generate biomass based power project in the District of Warangal in the State of Andhra Pradesh (hereinafter referred to as the 'Company'). The complaint was filed in respect of the offences allegedly committed und ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s. 20 lakhs and make payment for the front end fee to IREDA which had in collusion with the other accused sanctioned the financial assistance to the Company to the extent of Rs. 11.50 crores subject to the condition that the promoters should invest Rs. 4.98 crores as their contribution towards the total project cost of Rs. 16.48 crores. 5. According to the complainant, accused A9 - the Manager of IREDA, suggested that the company should appoint A4 Company as a contractor representing that the Directors of the said A4 Company i.e. A5 and A6 in reality his brother-in-law, have wide experience in executing such projects. The complainant believed that representation and allowed those persons and others to become Director as a result of which A ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s 120B and 420 of the IPC and Section 628 of the Companies Act. 7. Against the complaint, the following accused-namely A4 Company; its Directors A5 and A6; A9 the manager of the IREDA; and A10 the private person approached the High Court under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C.. The High Court took the view that the Special Judge could not have taken cognizance of the offences under Sections 120B and 420 of the IPC unless he could also try the accused under Section 621 of the Companies Act. As regards the accused Company A4 and its Directors A5 and A6, the High Court held that no cognizance could be taken against the said accused because the complainant did not belong to any of the categories or persons who were entitled to file a complaint under ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iquidator of a company shall not be deemed to be an officer of the company, within the meaning of sub- section (1)."] i.e. to say the complainant was neither (a) the Registrar, (b) a shareholder of the company, or (c) a person authorized in that behalf. Thus, the High Court held that taking of cognizance by the Special Court in so far as accused nos. A4, A5 and A6 is without jurisdiction. This finding is sought to be supported by the provisions of Section 621(1) of the Companies Act. However, without giving any special reasons as regards accused Nos. A9 and A10 the High Court quashed the taking of cognizance. In fact A9 is the manager of IREDA a financing agency and A10 is a private person and are prima facie not a company or officers of a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pet Branch, Chennai in order to open a bank account 'the said Board resolution being a false declaration,' since a bank account in the said bank was already opened even before A1 had obtained consent of the complainant to open the said account and further since the said Board resolution is signed by Hari Sesha Reddy - A3 who was not even a Director in the company as on the date of the opening of the bank account. The offence alleged against A10 was that she had drawn huge amounts through self cheques in the capacity of the authorized signatory of the company. It is surprising to see that the High Court has quashed the complaint against the accused persons on the ground of legal defects though no allegation containing such defects were made ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... other Acts by virtue of a notification issued by the erstwhile Government of Andhra Pradesh dated 13.3.1981 which empowers such special Courts to try offences under specified enactments such as The Companies Act, 1956, The Income-tax Act, 1961, The Wealth-tax Act, 1957 etc., which reads as follows:- "even if such cases include offences punishable under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and any other enactments, if such offences form part of the same transaction." [vide Notification reproduced in Criminal Petition No. 5846 of 2014 The Superintendent Of Customs Vs. Kannur Abdul Kader Mohammed Haneefa reported in 2014 (310) ELT49(A.P.)] 11. Thus, even if a number of persons are accused of offences under a special enactment such as 'the Companies ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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