- (1.) THE petitioners herein have invoked the writ jurisdiction of this court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India with the prayer for the quashment of Koderma PS. Case No.113 of 1999 corresponding to G.R. No. 261 of 1999 in which they have been arrayed as accused for the offence under Sections 419/ 420/379/341/323 of the Indian Penal Code pending in the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Koderma.
(2.) THE prosecution story in short was that the informant -respondent NO.4 Mukesh Kumar was having a truck No.BR1 G -3777 with national permit. The informant -respondent NO.4 had sent his vehicle for carrying coal but neither driver Jawahar Roy nor cleaner Amod Kumar of the said truck returned with the vehicle and the informant -respondent NO.4 did not enquire presuming that the driver of the said truck would be carrying goods in trips.Yet, when the truck did not return for long 20/25 days, the informant -respondent NO.4 began to search his truck with its driver and cleaner and in course of that. he came across one Harendra Singh, driver of another Truck No. BPM 5152 on 17.4.1999 from whom he lathered that when the Truck No. BR1.J -3777 of the informant -respondent No. 4 arrived Koderma with the coal loaded thereon, it was intercepted by the occupants of a Commander Jeep who asked the driver to take the truck away to Kolkata. It was further alleged that when the driver refused to do so, he was threatened to be killed otherwise and terrorized by the petitioners and others of IDEAL Financing Corporation Ltd. Pursuant to such information, when the ant -respondent No. 4 came to Koderma. he did not find either his truck in question or its driver or cleaner. The informant -respondent NO.4 explained that there was no amount due on the truck against him of IDEAL Financing Corporation and that the petitioners and others had neither right nor any order of competent court to forcibly take away his vehicle. It was further clarified. that no case was instituted in respect of that vehicle and the respondent, therefore, had reason to believe that the petitioners with others, pursuant to a criminal conspiracy and with intention to usurp the truck by creating forged documents, took away the truck with its driver and cleaner. He suspected that driver and cleaner of the truck in question might have been killed or kidnapped as they were carrying about Rs.10,000/ - with them. Mr. P.PN. Roy, the learned Sr. Counsel submitted that informant -respondent NO.4 had obtained the truck in question on the instance of the Financier under the hire purchase agreement which was entered into between the parties on 4.9.1996 as also with another agreement of arbitration (Annexure -3). As per the agreement (Annexure -2) the hirer was to pay a total amount of Rs.6,21,901.00 besides the initial down payment of Rs. 2,18,500.00 in 23 equal instalments and that agreement with the hirer expired on 15.8.1998 and till then he had paid only 4,30,901.00 with the balance to the tune of Rs. 1,91,000.00 with the interest on the delayed payment. The informant -respondent No. 4 had made last payment on 5.8.1998.
(3.) MR . Roy further submitted that after default in payment, the informant -respondent NO.4 was asked by three registered letters with AID calling upon either to make payment of balance amount or to surrender the truck in question which he had purchased on the instance of the financier M/s IDEAL Financing Corporation Pvt. Limited, Kolkata. The above letters were followed by a legal notice but of no avail and ultimately the Truck No. BR1G -3777 was seized by the authorized representative Mr. B.P Singh on 17.3.1999 and the same was kept in the custody of Koderma Police Station. From there the truck in question was taken to Dumka with due permission and kept it in the garage of the Financier Company at Dumka. The informant -respondent No.4, in the meantime, having came to know about the development made got a concocted and false case instituted on 19.4.1999 against the petitioners and others as stated above.;