H.C.P. Tripathi, J. - (1.) APPLICANT Sanwal Ram Kejriwal is the Director of Messrs Kejriwal Commercial Corporation (Private) Limited Kanpur -a Company dealing in the manufacture and sale of fertilizers. Opposite party Sri Ram Niwas is the Honorary Secretary of U.P. Co -operative Cane Unions' Federation Limited, Lucknow -an apex organization of the Cane Cooperative Unions in the State.
(2.) ON 27.4.1962 the applicant instituted a complaint against the opposite party before a Magistrate at Kanpur on the allegations that his Company used to supply Sanai seeds and fertilizers to the U.P. Co -operative Cane Unions' Federation Ltd. Lucknow, that under the terms of the contract the Federation used to pay 90 per cent price of the goods supplied against the railway receipts and in the case of Sanai seeds the remaining 10 per cent after the satisfactory receipt of the consignment, and in the case of fertilizers, the balance was paid on the receipt of nitrogen analysis result of the same, that inspite of this contract the opposite party who happens to be the Secretary of the Federation under the influence of "certain wire -pullers of rival concerns" stopped payment of the part of the remaining 10 per cent of Sanai seed amount though the consignments had already been received by the Federation. Whereupon the applicant intimated to him that he would stop the supply of fertilizers in case his dues under 10 per cent head relating to the supply of 'Sanai seeds were not paid to him. The opposite party thereupon promised to make the payment of the balance amount and informed the applicant that he had directed his office to prepare a cheque for Rs. 10,000/ - and to send the same to him in payment of his Sanai seed dues. Relying on this promise and assurance the applicant supplied goods of considerable amount to the Federation after the 7th of March, 1962 and he was given a cheque for Rs. 10,000/ - by the opposite party on the 15th of March, 1962. Subsequently, however, on a false pretext that the fertilizers supplied by the applicant's Company were adulterated with an inferior stuff, the opposite party stopped payment of the amount of the cheque and that as the applicant would not have supplied the goods to the Federation if he had not been given assurance by the opposite party to be paid Rs. 10,000/ - by cheque, the action taken by him in stopping its payment amounted to an offence under Section 415 of the Indian Penal Code. Applicant made a further allegation in his complaint that the opposite party was maliciously spreading false allegations to different persons and competitors in the field of his business, that the goods supplied by the applicant were adulterated and has thus damaged the business reputation of the applicant thereby committing an offence under Section 500 IPC. The Magistrate who was seized with the case was of opinion that as the opposite party was a gazetted Government servant, being an Assistant Cane Commissioner, Lucknow, and that as it was in addition to his own duties as such that he was also appointed by the Cane Commissioner as Honorary Secretary of the Cane Unions' Federation Limited, Lucknow, the complaint against him without obtaining sanction of the State Government, was barred by Section 197 Criminal Procedure Code. He, therefore, rejected the complaint and discharged the opposite party.
(3.) IN revision the learned Civil and Sessions Judge was of the view that although the complaint was not barred by Section 197 of the Code, the finding of the Magistrate discharging the opposite party was correct because the allegations made in the complaint on the very lace of it did not constitute offences under Sections 420 and 500 IPC. He, therefore, upheld the order of discharge and dismissed the revision. The applicant has now come up in revision to this Court.;