Company-law investigation does not bar police probe into cognizable offences; FIR quashing is not justified on that ground alone.

Sections 235 to 242 of the Companies Act, 1956 create a mechanism for investigation into company affairs and may support prosecution under that Act, but they do not exclude police investigation where the facts disclose cognizable offences under the IPC. The existence of a company-law remedy is not, by itself, an express or implied bar to recourse under the Code of Criminal Procedure. Where an FIR discloses cognizable allegations and investigation is at the inquiry stage, the court will not assess the truth or evidentiary value of the accusations for quashing.

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Issues: Whether the provisions relating to investigation into the affairs of a company under the Companies Act, 1956 bar police investigation into allegations of cognizable offences under the Indian Penal Code and whether the FIR deserved to be quashed.

Analysis: The statutory mechanism for investigation into company affairs under sections 235 to 242 of the Companies Act, 1956 is directed to corporate investigation and may lead to consequences such as prosecution under the Act, but it does not exclude the police power to investigate information disclosing a cognizable offence. The existence of a company-law remedy does not amount to an express or implied bar against recourse to the Code of Criminal Procedure where the allegations disclose offences under the IPC. Where the FIR is registered on court orders and the investigation is still at the stage of inquiry into alleged cognizable offences, the Court will not test the truth or evidentiary value of the allegations for the purpose of quashing.

Conclusion: The police investigation was held to be maintainable notwithstanding the company-law provisions, and the prayer for quashing of the FIR was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition failed because the complaint disclosed allegations of cognizable offences for which police investigation was legally open, and the Companies Act provisions did not foreclose that course.

Ratio Decidendi: Company-law provisions dealing with investigation into corporate affairs do not bar police investigation into suspected cognizable offences, and the existence of an alternative statutory mechanism is not by itself a ground to quash an FIR.

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