Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – s.482 – Quashing of complaint – Complainant transferred certain sum of money to bank account of the firm run by his brother-accused no.5 and certain sum given in cash to appellants-accused, for the car dealership business – However, the complainant not made partner despite assurance and huge investment made by him – Complainant and his companions went to the house of appellants where accused-appellants tried to assault and verbally abuse them – FIR lodged by complainant for the offences punishable u/ss.420, 342, 294(b) and 506(1) IPC – Petition by appellants seeking quashing of complaint – Rejected by the High Court – Sustainability:
Held: Not sustainable – Instant case is wherein the proceedings of the impugned FIR are manifestly frivolous and vexatious or instituted with the ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance – Impugned FIR and all proceedings sought to be taken against the accused-appellants are quashed as the same tantamount to a gross abuse of the process of law – FIR was lodged with a gross delay of more than 6 years in which no explanation forthcoming – Even from the admitted contents of the FIR, no allegation that any of the accused-appellants induced the complainant to invest in their car dealership business – Parties are closely related to each other and that the amount was admittedly transferred by the complainant to the account of the firm, which is run by his elder brother, accused no.5 – Thus, neither did the accused-appellants make any inducement whatsoever to the complainant nor was the complainant defrauded into parting with any valuable security in favour of the accused-appellants by acting on such inducement – Allegation of the complainant regarding the incident of verbal abuse, hurting of religious sentiments and criminal intimidation and wrongful restraint also unbelievable since all these acts admittedly happened in the house of the accused where the complainant and his family members had gone, thus, the accused-appellants had no reason whatsoever to indulge in such acts – These allegations nothing but exaggerations which complainant employed in order to wreak vengeance against the accused – Thus, the order passed by the High Court set aside – Penal Code, 1860 – ss.294(b), 342, 420, 506(1). [Paras 30-34]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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