TMI Blog1947 (2) TMI 23X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . ) challenging the orders passed by the learned Trial Court refusing to discharge them and also questioning the continuance of the criminal proceedings registered against them. Of the three accused, Jayantilal L. Shah, the court is informed, has died during the pendency of the present appeal truncating the scope thereof to an adjudication of the correctness of the decision of the High Court in so far as accused Narendra Lal Jain and Ramanlal Lalchand Jain are concerned. 3. On the basis of two FIRs dated 22.03.1993, R.C. No. 21(A) of 1993 and R.C. No.22 (A) of 1993 were registered against the accused-respondents and several officers of the Bank of Maharashtra. The offences alleged were duly investigated and separate chargesheets in the t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pondents which were rejected by the learned Trial Court by order dated 04.09.2011. The learned Trial Court, thereafter, proceeded to frame charges against the accused. In so far as the present accused-respondents are concerned charges were framed under Sections 120-B/420 of the Indian Penal Code whereas against the bank officials, charges were framed under the different provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act). The challenge of the respondents to the order of the learned Trial Court refusing discharge and the continuation of the criminal proceedings as a whole having been upheld by the High Court and the proceedings in question having been set aside and quashed in respect of the respondent, the CBI has filed the present ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... must have due regard to the nature and gravity of the offences alleged before proceeding to exercise the power under Section 482 Cr.P.C. Specifically drawing the attention of the Court to para 61 of the report in Gian Singh (supra) Shri Malhotra has submitted that any compromise between the victim and the offender in relation to the offences under special statutes like the Prevention of Corruption Act . cannot provide for any basis for quashing criminal proceeding involving such offences . Shri Malhotra had contended that having regard to the gravity of the offences alleged, which offences are prima facie made out, in as much as charges have been framed for the trial of the accused- respondents, the High Court was not justified in quashing ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s laid down in B.S. Joshi (supra) to the facts of the present case. 9. Learned counsel has further pointed out that the charges framed against the accused-respondents are under Section 120-B/420 of the Indian Penal Code and the respondents not being public servants, no substantive offence under the PC Act can be alleged against them. The relevance of the views expressed in para 61 of the judgment of this Court in Gian Singh (supra), noted above, to the present case is seriously disputed by the learned counsel in view of the offences alleged against the respondents. Learned counsel has also submitted that by the very same impugned order of the High Court the criminal proceeding against one Nikhil Merchant was declined to be quashed on the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... upra) and Nikhil Merchant (supra) are correct. 10. In the present case, as already seen, the offence with which the accused-respondents had been charged are under Section 120-B/420 of the Indian Penal Code. The civil liability of the respondents to pay the amount to the bank has already been settled amicably. The terms of such settlement have been extracted above. No subsisting grievance of the bank in this regard has been brought to the notice of the Court. While the offence under Section 420 IPC is compoundable the offence under Section 120- B is not. To the latter offence the ratio laid down in B.S. Joshi (supra) and Nikhil Merchant (supra) would apply if the facts of the given case would so justify. The observation in Gian Singh (sup ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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