TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2009 (4) TMI 906
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....General Merchant and Commission Agent for various food items like sugar, jaggery, oil seeds, oil, grains, pulses and cotton etc. It was dealing in cotton as commission agent for various persons belonging to different places in different states including Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. The proprietorship of the 1st appellant is registered with the Sales Tax Department of Maharashtra. Srimathi Ravindra Kumar Madhanlal Goenka - Accused No. 2 (2nd appellant herein) is stated to be a partner in the firm. Accused-2 is a broker cum dealer and Accused-3 his wife, a partner and Accused-4 is his sub-broker/agent. The present appeal has been filed by Accused-1 (1st appellant) and Accused-2 (2nd appellant). 4. The respondent through his agents approached the 1st appellant by personally visiting Akola and ordered cotton bales to manufacture yarn. The agents had stayed for about 45 days at Akola and after examining the quality of cotton and after their approval the cotton was transported to the respondent for which the respondent offered 1% commission to the 1st appellant. The 1st appellant by raising bank loan gave the same to the cotton manufacturers and dealers and bought from them and the....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....er dispute arose between the parties. 6. Subsequently, the 1st appellant approached the Akola Police for filing a complaint. However, the same was not entertained and registered stating that the transaction was purely commercial and civil in nature and the business disputes cannot be resolved by criminal prosecution. In the meanwhile, the respondent filed a complaint under Section 200 CrPC before the Judicial Magistrate No. 1 at Coimbatore for offences u/s 406, 420 and 384 of the Indian Penal Code (in short `IPC'. The court vide order dated 2.8.2004 issued an order directing the Thudiyalur Police to register a case under Section 406, 420 and 384 IPC and submit their final report within 3 months. The case was registered on 21.8.2004 after receipt of the court order on 9.8.2004. Subsequently, the respondent also filed a private complaint under Section 190 and 200 Cr.PC for offences punishable under Sections 120-B, 406, 420 and 384 IPC by implicating the 2nd appellant, who is the wife of the 1st appellant and one Srinivasa Lele who is the agent of the respondent. The Judicial Magistrate No. 1 at Coimbatore on the basis of such complaint issued summons to the appellant....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....Konjalgi [1976 (3) SCC 736], it was held that the Magistrate while issuing process against the accused should satisfy himself as to whether the allegations in the complaint, if proved, would ultimately end in the conviction of the accused. It was held that the order of Magistrate issuing process against the accused could be quashed under the following circumstances: (SCC p. 741, para 5) "(1) Where the allegations made in the complaint or the statements of the witnesses recorded in support of the same taken at their face value make out absolutely no case against the accused or the complaint does not disclose the essential ingredients of an offence which is alleged against the accused; (2) Where the allegations made in the complaint are patently absurd and inherently improbable so that no prudent person can ever reach a conclusion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused; (3) Where the discretion exercised by the Magistrate in issuing process is capricious and arbitrary having been based either on no evidence or on materials which are wholly irrelevant or inadmissible; and (4) Where the complaint suffers from fundamental legal defects, such as....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....e. The object of the criminal law is to punish an offender who commits an offence against a person, property or the State for which the accused, on proof of the offence, is deprived of his liberty and in some cases even his life. This does not, however, affect the civil remedies at all for suing the wrongdoer in cases like arson, accidents, etc. It is an anathema to suppose that when a civil remedy is available, a criminal prosecution is completely barred. The two types of actions are quite different in content, scope and import." 12. This Court in the case of Indian Oil Corpn. v. NEPC India Ltd. [2006 (6) SCC 736], at page 747 has observed as under : "12. The principles relating to exercise of jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to quash complaints and criminal proceedings have been stated and reiterated by this Court in several decisions. To mention a few Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia v. Sambhajirao Chandrojirao Angre, State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, Rupan Deol Bajaj v. Kanwar Pal Singh Gill, Central Bureau of Investigation v. Duncans Agro Industries Ltd., State of Bihar v. Rajendra Agrawalla, Rajesh Bajaj v. State NCT of Delhi, Medchl Chemi....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....al offence or not." 13. The appellant has placed reliance on a decision of this Court in the case of Uma Shankar Gopalika v. State of Bihar [2005 (10) SCC 336], at page 338, wherein this Court has observed as follows : "7. In our view petition of complaint does not disclose any criminal offence at all much less any offence either under Section 420 or Section 120-B IPC and the present case is a case of purely civil dispute between the parties for which remedy lies before a civil court by filing a properly constituted suit. In our opinion, in view of these facts allowing the police investigation to continue would amount to an abuse of the process of court and to prevent the same it was just and expedient for the High Court to quash the same by exercising the powers under Section 482 CrPC which it has erroneously refused." 14. In the abovementioned case, this Court has taken the view that when the complaint does not disclose any criminal offence, the proceeding is liable to be quashed under Section 482 CrPC. However, the same is not the situation in the present case. There is no denial of the fact that though 900 bales of cotton was already dispatched, but 100 bales of ....