- (1.) PRAFULLA C. Pant, J. By means of these two writ petitions, First Information Report dated 18-11-2007, registered under the orders of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dehradun, under Sec tion 156 (3) of Code of Criminal Proce dure, 1973 (hereinafter referred as Cr. PC.), in Misc. Case No. 271 of 2007, is sought to be quashed.
(2.) HEARD learned counsel for the par ties. Brief facts of the case are that the petitioners of both the writ petitions are the officers of I. C. I. C. I. Bank Ltd. , Mr. N. Vaghul (petitioner no. 1 in Writ Petition No. 1277 of 2007) is Chairman of I. C. I. C. I. Bank Ltd. , having its office in Baroda. Sri K. V. Kamath (petitioner no. 2 in Writ Petition No. 1277 of 2007) is Managing Director of I. C. I. C. I. Bank, having his office at Mumbai. Sri Anil Rawat (petitioner in Writ Petition No. 1269 of 2007) is Collection Manager in I. C. I. C. I. Bank in branch office situated in New Cant Road, Dehradun. Complain ant Lalit Kumar Goswami (respondent no. 3 in both the writ petitions) admittedly sought a loan of Rs. 25,296/- from I. C. I. C. I. Bank, branch Dehradun. He was to repay the loan on certain instalments, which according to him were made, but the Bank had shown the cheques bounced and served notices on the complainant for recovery of the loan. Later, the record is said to have been rectified and the amounts paid by the complainant were taken into account and no dues clearance was given by the Bank. However, mean while complainant Lalit Kumar Goswami filed a Criminal Complaint No. 2595 of 2007, not only against the Collection Manager of I. C. I. C. I. Bank, branch Dehradun, but also impleaded Sri N. Vaghul, Chairman of the Bank, having its office at Baroda, and Sri K. V. Kamath, Managing Director of the Bank, having his office in Mumbai. Said criminal com plaint, which was filed on 07-05-2007, before Special Judicial Magistrate (I Class)-II, Dehradun, was registered and after recording the evidence under Section 200 and 202 Cr. P. C. and hearing the par ties the complaint was dismissed on 30-06-2007 by the Magistrate under Section 203 of the Cr. P. C. , holding that the dis pute, if any, between the parties was of civil nature and no criminal offence is said to have been made out against any of the accused (petitioners ). Concealing the fact that criminal complaint has been dis missed, Sri Lalit Kumar Goswami (com plainant) moved an application under Section 156 (3) Cr. P. C. before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dehradun, on same set of facts for seeking direction to the Station House Officer of Kotwali, Dehradun, to register the case against N. Vaghul, Chairman of I. C. I. C. I. Bank, hav ing its office in Baroda, Sri K. V. Kamath, Managing Director, having its office in Mumbai and Sri Anil Rawat, Collection Manager of I. C. I. C. I. Bank, branch Dehradun. The Police report on said ap plication asked by the Magistrate shows that police informed the Chief Judicial Magistrate that the dispute of non-pay ment of instalments had already been re solved after the notice were received by the complainant, and the technical mistakes on the part of the Bank Official of the Branch were rectified. Apart from this no due certificate was also issued by the Bank in favour of the complainant Lalit Kumar Goswami, a copy of which is also filed with the writ petitions. Still the Chief Ju dicial Magistrate directed the Police to register the crime on 13-11-2007, and in compliance of said order the impugned First Information Report appears to have been registered against the petitioners, reg istering a Crime No. 444 of 2007, relat ing to offences punishable under Sections 420 and 506 I. P. C. Having heard learned counsel for the parties, and on perusal of papers on record, we found this case to be a case of gross abuse of process of law not only on the part of the complainant but also on the part of the Chief Judicial Magis trate, Dehradun. The complainant after dismissal of the Criminal Complaint Case No. 2595 of 2007 on 30-06-2007, com mitted abuse of process of law by mov ing an application under Section 156 (3) of Cr. P. C. (petition under Section 482 Cr. P. C. against the order dated 30th June 2007, appears to have been dismissed, a copy of which is annexed with the modi fication application, in Writ Petition No. 1269 of 2007 ). The Chief Judicial Magis trate has also erred in law ignoring not only the dismissal of the criminal com plaint filed by the complainant, but also ignoring the police report received from the Police Station which clearly suggest that civil dispute of repayment of instalments of loan has already been resolved. The height of abuse' of process of law is that the petitioners K. V. Kamath, Managing Director, sitting in Mumbai and Sri N. Vaghul, Chairman of the Bank, sitting in Baroda, who have no knowledge whatso ever of even the loan transaction were booked in the criminal case, in the man ner stated above. We have gone through each and every paper relied by the par ties in their support and defence and we are of the view that it is a glaring exam ple of abuse of process of law on the part of the complainant and also on the part of the Chief Judicial Magistrate. We feel that the impugned First Information Re port, lodged against the petitioners, is li able to be quashed.
(3.) THEREFORE, the writ petitions are al lowed. The First Information Report dated 18-11-2007, registered against the petition ers N. Vaghul, K. V. Kamath and Anil Rawat, in Case Crime No. 444 of 2007, relating to offences punishable under Sec tions 420 and 506 I. P. C. is hereby quashed. The interim order passed by this Court in writ petitions is affirmed. .;