TMI Blog2000 (2) TMI 840X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nstitute or disclose any offence as alleged, there ought not to be any hesitation to rise upto the expectation of the people and deal with the situation as is required under the law. Frustrated litigants ought not to be indulged to give vent to their vindictiveness through a legal process and such an investigation ought not to be allowed to be continued since the same is opposed to the concept of justice, which is paramount. Factual matrix therefore would thus be relevant in the matter of assessment of the situation as to whether civic profile would outweigh the criminal outfit. It appears that as against the initiation of proceeding on the file of 17th Metropolitan Magistrate, Hyderabad against the appellant under Sections 120B, 418, 415 and 420 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code, the respondents moved the High Court for quashing of complaint and the Learned Single Judge on 15th February, 1999 in Criminal Petition No.5386 of 1998 did quash the complaint and hence the petitioner is in appeal before this Court. The Learned Single Judge while dealing with the matter came to a definite conclusion that the complaint does not disclose any offence having been committed by the accused ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Agreement dated 31.8.1997 would show that the supply of raw material DL2 Amino Butanol by A1 to the Complainant must be 15,210 Kgs or 15.21 Mts per month to facilitate and sustain a monthly production of 8500 Kgs. or 8.5 Mts. of the finished product Ethambutol Hydrochloride per month. (iii) Another main factor being that the Complainant should not suffer any loss on account of the execution of the agreement with A1. The Complainant states that it entered into the Agreement dated 31.8.1997 with A1 under which the Complainant has been converting the raw materials supplied by A1 into the bulk drug Ethambutol Hydrochloride and supplying it back to A1 on prescribed conversion charges. (iv) ..The Complainant states that the supply of raw materials, particularly the principal imported raw material DL2 Amino Butanol, by A1 was far from regular almost from the beginning of the agreement. This was often being informed to A1 through A2, A3, A4 and A5. Based on the representations made by A1 through A2 to A5, the Complainant had planned its production according to the agreement i.e. on the basis of supply of 15,210 kgs. DL2 Amino Butanol by A1 for conversion every month, but the Comp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e planning to manufacture in their own facilities the bulk drug Ethambutol Hydrochloride and wanted to put the Complainant out of competition by ruining them by keeping them out of production which was achieved by the Accused by making false representations of supply of raw material at the agreed levels and then willfully failing and omitting to act as per these representations. (ix) The Complainant was also persuaded by the representations of the Accused to desist from invoking Clause 15 of the Agreement and revoke it which would have reduced its losses to some extent. The above acts of the Accused clearly attract the ingredients of the offence punishable U/Sec.415 I.P.C.. (x) the Accused were having dishonest intention and it was with such intention that the Complainant Company was fraudulently and dishonestly induced to enter into the Agreement dt. 31.8.97. The dishonest intention of the Accused is further seen from the complaint lodged by A6 on behalf of A1 against three officers of the Complainant. (xi) The Accused were fully aware that the Complainant is a reputed manufacturer of Ethambutol Hydrochloride and they are having good reputation in Indan and Overseas marke ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... laint which would disclose a criminal offence. Before proceeding further in the matter, let us now deal with the offences alleged in the First Information Report. The first offence alleged is that of cheating within the meaning of Section 415 IPC . For convenience sake Section 415 reads as below: 415. Cheating Whoever, by deceiving any person, fradulently or dishonestly induces the person so deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to consent that any person shall retain any property, or intentionally induces the person so deceived to do or omit to do anything which he would not do or omit if he were not so deceived, and which act or omission causes or is likely to cause damage or harm to that person in body, mind, reputation or property, is said to cheat . Explanation A dishonest concealment of facts is a deception within the meaning of this section. The Complaint is also said to be under Section 418 I.P.C. which reads as below: 418. Cheating with knowledge that wrongful loss may ensue to person whose interest offender is bound to protect. Whoever cheats with the knowledge that he is likely thereby to cause wrongful loss to a person whose interest in the transactio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t mere failure to deliver in breach of an agreement would not amount to cheating but is liable only to a civil action for breach of contract and it is this concept which obviously has weighed with the Learned Single Judge. But can the factual situation as narrated above in the longish reproduction of the complaint lend support to the observations of the Learned Judge, the answer is pivotal one but before so doing one other aspect as regards the powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C. ought to be noticed. As noted herein before this power is to be exercised with care and caution and rather sparingly and has been so held on more occasions than one. In the case of Pratibha Rani v. Suraj Kumar 1985 SCC (Crl.) 180 this Court pointed out that the High Court should very sparingly exercise its discretion under Section 482 Cr.P.C. In L.V.Jadhav v. Shankarrao Abasaheb Pawar [AIR 1983 SC 1219: (1983) 4 SCC 231: 1983 SCC (Crl) 813] this Court observed: The High Court, we cannot refrain from observing, might well have refused to invoke its inherent powers at the very threshold in order to quash the proceedings, for these powers are meant to be exercised sparingly and with circumspection when there is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ompanying the same per se. It has no jurisdiction to examine the correctness or otherwise of the allegations. In case no offence is committed on the allegation and the ingredients of Sections 405 and 406, IPC are not made out, the High Court would be justified in quashing the proceedings. In the matter under consideration, if we try to analyse the guidelines as specified in Shivalingappas case (supra) can it be said that the allegations in the complaint do not make out any case against the accused nor it discloses the ingredients of an offence alleged against the accused or the allegations are patently absurd and inherently improbable so that no prudent person can ever reach to such a conclusion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused. In the present case, the complaint as noticed above does not, however, lend credence to the questions posed. It is now well settled and one need not dilate on this score, neither we intend to do so presently that the allegations in the complaint will have to be accepted on the face of it and truth or falsity of which would not be gone into by the Court at this earliest stage as noticed above: whether or not allegations i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing arrived between the parties that disputes, if any, arising between them in respect of any transaction be resolved through arbitration. High Court made the following observations: Besides supplies of processed soyabean were received by the complainant company without any objection and the same have been exported by the complainant-company. The question whether the complainant-company did suffer the loss as alleged by it are the matters to be adjudicated by the Civil Court and cannot be the subject matter of criminal prosecution. 7. Time and again this Court has been pointing out that the quashment of FIR or a complaint in exercise of inherent powers of the High Court should be limited to very extreme exceptions (vide State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (1992 Suppl.(1) SCC 335 and Rajesh Bajaj v. State NCT of Delhi (1999 (3) SCC 259)]. 8. In the last referred case this court also pointed out that merely because an act has a civil profile is not sufficient to denude it of its criminal outfit. We quote the following observations: It may be that the facts narrated in the present complaint would as well reveal a commercial transaction or money transaction. But that is hardly a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is completely barred . The two types of actions are quite different in content, scope and impart [vide Pratibha Rani v. Suraj Kumar (supra)]. Mr. Mishra, the learned Senior Advocate for the respondents herein being the accused persons, strongly relied upon the decisions of this Court in the case of Dr. Sharma Nursing Home v. Delhi Administration 1998 (8) SCC 745 wherein this Court observed: that findings of Section 420 IPC has been rested only on the reception and did not go into the question whether the complainant and its accompany men disclosed the essential ingredient of the offence under Section 420 IPC namely, disclosed inducement. Mr. Mishra upon reliance in Dr. Sharmas case (supra) also contended that Section 24 of the I.P.C has defined the word dishonesty to mean a deliberate intent to cause wrongful gain or wrongful loss. It has been the specific case of the complainant that from the beginning of the transaction there was a definite intent on the part of the accused persons to cause wrongful loss to the complainant. This aspect of the matter, however, has not been taken note of by the learned Single Judge. The decision of this Court in Dr. Sharmas case (supra) thus does n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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