AM Mohan Vs State
AM Mohan Vs State
AM Mohan Vs State
JUDGMENT
B.R. GAVAI, J.
1. Leave granted.
and Crl. M.P. No. 8763 of 2020, whereby the High Court
(“Cr.P.C.” for short), to call for the records and to quash the
Signature Not Verified First Information Report (“FIR” for short) registered as Crime
Digitally signed by
Narendra Prasad
1
under Section 420 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code,
FACTS
are as under:
for some help to clear his hand loan. The accused No. 2
100% profit.
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24,25,834/- in cash to accused Nos. 1 and 2, totalling to the
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complainant, vide document No. 3733/2017, in respect of
the above said land and also executed a registered sale deed
complainant.
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chit business” conducted by accused No. 1 and paid a sum of
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3.7 Aggrieved thereby, the appellant herein filed a Criminal
O.P. No. 20716 of 2020 before the High Court, under Section
482 of the Cr.P.C., to call for the records and to quash the
said FIR.
3.8 Vide impugned order dated 15th July 2022, the learned
in depth.
3.9 The Single Judge held that the FIR discloses prima facie
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3.11 As per the additional documents filed in this Court, the
SUBMISSIONS
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out a case of “intentional inducement”, “dishonesty” or
same day i.e. 3rd February 2017, accused No. 1 had executed
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that the appellant has no role to play after 3rd February 2017
CONSIDERATION
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Limited and Others1 after considering the earlier
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meticulous analysis of the material nor an
assessment of the reliability or genuineness of the
allegations in the complaint, is warranted while
examining prayer for quashing of a complaint.
(ii) A complaint may also be quashed
where it is a clear abuse of the process of
the court, as when the criminal
proceeding is found to have been initiated
with mala fides/malice for wreaking
vengeance or to cause harm, or where the
allegations are absurd and inherently
improbable.
(iii) The power to quash shall not,
however, be used to stifle or scuttle a
legitimate prosecution. The power should
be used sparingly and with abundant
caution.
(iv) The complaint is not required to
verbatim reproduce the legal ingredients
of the offence alleged. If the necessary
factual foundation is laid in the
complaint, merely on the ground that a
few ingredients have not been stated in
detail, the proceedings should not be
quashed. Quashing of the complaint is
warranted only where the complaint is so
bereft of even the basic facts which are
absolutely necessary for making out the
offence.
(v) A given set of facts may make out: (a)
purely a civil wrong; or (b) purely a
criminal offence; or (c) a civil wrong as
also a criminal offence. A commercial
transaction or a contractual dispute,
apart from furnishing a cause of action
for seeking remedy in civil law, may also
involve a criminal offence. As the nature
and scope of a civil proceeding are
different from a criminal proceeding, the
mere fact that the complaint relates to a
commercial transaction or breach of
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contract, for which a civil remedy is
available or has been availed, is not by
itself a ground to quash the criminal
proceedings. The test is whether the
allegations in the complaint disclose a
criminal offence or not.
13. While on this issue, it is necessary to take
notice of a growing tendency in business circles to
convert purely civil disputes into criminal cases.
This is obviously on account of a prevalent
impression that civil law remedies are time
consuming and do not adequately protect the
interests of lenders/creditors. Such a tendency is
seen in several family disputes also, leading to
irretrievable breakdown of marriages/families.
There is also an impression that if a person could
somehow be entangled in a criminal prosecution,
there is a likelihood of imminent settlement. Any
effort to settle civil disputes and claims, which do
not involve any criminal offence, by applying
pressure through criminal prosecution should be
deprecated and discouraged. In G. Sagar
Suri v. State of U.P. [(2000) 2 SCC 636 : 2000 SCC
(Cri) 513] this Court observed: (SCC p. 643, para 8)
“It is to be seen if a matter, which is
essentially of a civil nature, has been
given a cloak of criminal offence. Criminal
proceedings are not a short cut of other
remedies available in law. Before issuing
process a criminal court has to exercise a
great deal of caution. For the accused it
is a serious matter. This Court has laid
certain principles on the basis of which
the High Court is to exercise its
jurisdiction under Section 482 of the
Code. Jurisdiction under this section has
to be exercised to prevent abuse of the
process of any court or otherwise to
secure the ends of justice.”
14. While no one with a legitimate cause or
grievance should be prevented from seeking
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remedies available in criminal law, a complainant
who initiates or persists with a prosecution, being
fully aware that the criminal proceedings are
unwarranted and his remedy lies only in civil law,
should himself be made accountable, at the end of
such misconceived criminal proceedings, in
accordance with law. One positive step that can be
taken by the courts, to curb unnecessary
prosecutions and harassment of innocent parties, is
to exercise their power under Section 250 CrPC
more frequently, where they discern malice or
frivolousness or ulterior motives on the part of the
complainant. Be that as it may.”
10. The Court has also noted the concern with regard to a
2
(2000) 2 SCC 636 : 2000 INSC 34
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should be deprecated and discouraged. The Court also
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(2019) 16 SCC 739 : 2019 INSC 216
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16. The ingredients to constitute an offence of
cheating are as follows:
16.1. There should be fraudulent or dishonest
inducement of a person by deceiving him:
16.1.1. The person so induced should be
intentionally induced to deliver any property to any
person or to consent that any person shall retain
any property, or
16.1.2. The person so induced should be
intentionally induced to do or to omit to do anything
which he would not do or omit if he were not so
deceived; and
16.2. In cases covered by 16.1.2. above, the act or
omission should be one which caused or is likely to
cause damage or harm to the person induced in
body, mind, reputation or property.
17. A fraudulent or dishonest inducement is an
essential ingredient of the offence. A person who
dishonestly induces another person to deliver any
property is liable for the offence of cheating.
18. Section 420 of the Penal Code reads thus:
“420. Cheating and dishonestly
inducing delivery of property.—
Whoever cheats and thereby dishonestly
induces the person deceived to deliver
any property to any person, or to make,
alter or destroy the whole or any part of a
valuable security, or anything which is
signed or sealed, and which is capable of
being converted into a valuable security,
shall be punished with imprisonment of
either description for a term which may
extend to seven years, and shall also be
liable to fine.”
19. The ingredients to constitute an offence under
Section 420 are as follows:
19.1. A person must commit the offence of cheating
under Section 415; and
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19.2. The person cheated must be dishonestly
induced to
(a) deliver property to any person; or
(b) make, alter or destroy valuable
security or anything signed or sealed and
capable of being converted into valuable
security.
20. Cheating is an essential ingredient for an act to
constitute an offence under Section 420.”
12. A similar view has been taken by this Court in the cases
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(i) the deception of any person;
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16. Not only that, even in the charge-sheet, the only role
17. It could thus be seen that the only allegation against the
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the appellant-accused No.3 to accused No.1, the complainant
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No.1, who thereafter executed the GPA in favour of the
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Kumar Mohatta and Another v. State (NCT of Delhi),
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(2019) 11 SCC 706 : 2018 INSC 1060
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hearing an appeal from an order under Section 482
CrPC. Section 482 CrPC reads as follows:
“482. Saving of inherent powers of the
High Court.—Nothing in this Code shall
be deemed to limit or affect the inherent
powers of the High Court to make such
orders as may be necessary to give effect
to any order under this Code, or to
prevent abuse of the process of any court
or otherwise to secure the ends of
justice.”
16. There is nothing in the words of this section
which restricts the exercise of the power of the
Court to prevent the abuse of process of court or
miscarriage of justice only to the stage of the
FIR. It is settled principle of law that the High
Court can exercise jurisdiction under Section
482 CrPC even when the discharge application is
pending with the trial court [G. Sagar Suri v. State
of U.P., (2000) 2 SCC 636, para 7 : 2000 SCC (Cri)
513. Umesh Kumar v. State of A.P., (2013) 10 SCC
591, para 20 : (2014) 1 SCC (Cri) 338 : (2014) 2
SCC (L&S) 237] . Indeed, it would be a travesty to
hold that proceedings initiated against a person
can be interfered with at the stage of FIR but
not if it has advanced and the allegations have
materialised into a charge-sheet. On the
contrary it could be said that the abuse of
process caused by FIR stands aggravated if the
FIR has taken the form of a charge-sheet after
investigation. The power is undoubtedly
conferred to prevent abuse of process of power
of any court.”
[emphasis supplied]
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22. A similar view has been taken by this Court in the case
and Others8.
no merit.
CONCLUSION
order of the High Court dated 15th July 2022 in Criminal O.P.
quashed and set aside. The FIR in Crime No.21 of 2020 and
….........................J.
(B.R. GAVAI)
….........................J.
(RAJESH BINDAL)
….........................J.
(SANDEEP MEHTA)
NEW DELHI;
MARCH 20, 2024.
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2023 SCC OnLine SC 946 : 2023 INSC 688
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