HON’BLE Dr. JUSTICE K.G.SHANKAR Criminal Petition No.935 of 2014 Date: 02-7-2014 Between S.A.Rasheed … Petitioner/Accused and Dr. Shahnaz Bathul … Respondent/
De facto Complainant
The State of A.P., Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P., Hyderabad … Respondent HON’BLE Dr. JUSTICE K.G.SHANKAR Criminal Petition No.935 of 2014 Order:
C.C.No.57 of 2012 on the file of the II Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Nampally, Hyderabad is sought to be quashed by the petitioner herein. The 1st respondent is the de facto complainant.
2. The petitioner is the Managing Director of M/s. Overseas Publishers Private Limited, Hyderabad.
The 1st respondent is a Professor working in Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU, for short) at Kukatpally, Hyderabad. A complaint was lodged by the 2nd respondent before Police on 05-01-2010. The same was registered by Sultan Bazaar Police Station, Hyderabad as First Information Report (FIR) in Crime No.7 of 2010 under Sections 193, 420, 465, 468, 471 and 509 IPC as well as under Section 63 of the Copy Right Act, 1957. After due investigation, Police laid charge-sheet. Seeking for the quashment of the charge-sheet which was registered as C.C.No.57 of 2012, the present petition is laid.
3. The 1st respondent claimed that she wrote a book titled as “A Text Book of Probability and Statistics”.
On 01-6-2008, the 1st respondent allegedly gave the book to one Ch.Satish Kumar representing M/s. Ridge Publishers by conferring publishing and marketing rights upon the publishers. Satish Kumar allegedly tied up with one M/s. Cengage Learning India Private Limited which published the book and released the same to the open market in June, 2009.
4. It would appear that in June 2009, the 1st respondent received orders in I.A.No.839 of 2009 in O.S.No.814 of 2009 from the Court of the I Senior Civil Judge, City Civil Court, Hyderabad injuncting her from encouraging or entering into any agreement of printing and publishing of the book. It is alleged that the petitioner filed O.S.No.814 of 2009 claiming that Satish Kumar and the 1st respondent authorized the petitioner herein to publish the book. The 1st respondent however contends that neither she nor Satish Kumar granted such an authorization to the petitioner to publish and market the book. She consequently lodged FIR under Sections 193, 420, 465, 468, 471 and 509 IPC as well as under Section 63 of the Copy Right Act, 1957.
5. The learned counsel for the petitioner contended that there was an agreement between Satish Kumar and the accused on 09-01-2009, which was preceded by an agreement between the 1st respondent and Satish Kumar on 12-12-2008. He further contended that the petitioner published the book on the basis of the two agreements. He also referred to O.S.No.814 of 2009 filed by the accused seeking for declaration and injunction against the 1st respondent, M/s. Ridge Publications represented by Ch.Satish Kumar and M/s. Cengage Learning India Private Limited. He consequently claimed that the dispute is a civil dispute and that the 1st respondent should not be allowed to convert the civil litigation into a criminal dispute. He sought for the quashment of C.C.No.57 of 2012.
6. The learned counsel for the 1st respondent submitted that the trial has already commenced and the chief-examination of the 1st respondent has already concluded. He contended that this petition seeking for the quashment is belated and deserves to be dismissed
in limine. De hors the contentions of the learned counsel for the petitioner, the fact is that the trial in C.C.No.57 of 2012 has already commenced. Where the trial has already commenced, I am not inclined to consider the case of the petitioner on merits and decide whether the case deserves to be quashed. The petitioner may face the trial. In the event his claim is correct, he would succeed in the criminal proceedings. On the ground that the petition for quashment is highly belated where the trial has commenced, I deem it appropriate to dismiss the petition in limine.
7. Accordingly, this criminal petition is dismissed. The learned II Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Nampally, Hyderabad is requested to dispose of C.C.No.57 of 2012 as expeditiously as possible.
The miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in this petition shall stand closed.
Dr. K.G.SHANKAR, J.
02nd July, 2014. Ak HON’BLE Dr. JUSTICE K.G.SHANKAR Criminal Petition No.935 of 2014 02nd July, 2014. (Ak)