Summons-stage scrutiny in criminal complaints: absence of company nomination under Section 305 CrPC does not defeat prosecution at threshold.

A criminal complaint and summoning order against a company director were not quashed because the complaint disclosed a prima facie case at the summons stage, where only limited scrutiny is required. The absence of a Section 305 CrPC nomination by the accused company did not defeat the prosecution at the threshold, as that option is to be exercised after summons. Cognizance is of the offence, not the offender, and the question whether proceedings should continue against a particular accused was left for consideration at the Section 251 notice stage. The petitioner was granted liberty to raise all available objections before the trial court.

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Issues: Whether the criminal complaint and summoning order against the petitioner, a director of the accused companies, were liable to be quashed on the grounds that no specific role or overt act was attributed to her and that the companies had not yet exercised the option under Section 305 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: The complaint disclosed allegations sufficient to proceed at the summons stage, where the court is required to see only whether a prima facie case exists. The option under Section 305 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is to be exercised by the accused company after summons, and the absence of such nomination did not invalidate the prosecution at the threshold. Cognizance is taken of the offence and not of the offender, and the question whether proceedings should continue against a particular accused was held to be appropriate for consideration at the stage of notice under Section 251 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The court further held that a summons case need not inevitably proceed to trial merely because a summoning order has been issued, and the trial court must apply its mind at the notice stage.

Conclusion: The petition for quashing was not accepted; the matter was left to be considered by the trial court at the stage of notice, with liberty to the petitioner to raise all available pleas there.

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