PRITPAL SINGH,J - (1.) IN this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, first information report recorded at Police Station, City Rewari, district Mohindergarh, against the petitioner Ved Parkash is sought to be quashed.
(2.) THE impugned first information report has been recorded under Section 420, Indian Penal Code, on the allegations that the Station House Officer of the Police Station raided the soda-water factory of the petitioner and found that in order to cheat the public he was filling soda-water in empty bottles of various other companies such as Coca-Cola, Fanta and Thums-up. The contention of the learned petitioner's counsel is that these allegations contained in the first information report do not disclose the commission of an offence under Section 420, Indian Penal Code. There seems to be considerable merit in this contention. Section 420, Indian Penal Code, provides punishment for cheating. As to what is 'cheating' is defined in Section 415 of the Code as follows :- "Whoever by deceiving any person, fraudulently or dishonestly includes 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."
(3.) IN the instant case it is not even alleged in the first information report that the petitioner was deceiving the public into purchasing his soda-water as belonging to the other companies like Coca-Cola etc. There is no allegation that any member of the public had complained to the Station House Officer of the Police Station that the petitioner had sold spurious soda-water to him representing that it had been prepared by any other company. In these circumstances merely because the petitioner was found filling soda-water in empty bottles of some other companies it is not enough to convict him under Section 420, Indian Penal Code.;