IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 20TH DAY OF MARCH, 2019 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JOHN MICHAEL CUNHA CRIMINAL PETITION No.5560 OF 2013 BETWEEN:
1. Smt. V.K. Rama, D/o. V.K. Gopal, Aged about 48 years, R/o. No.1014, Ramya Sadan, 11th Main, RPC Layout, Hampinagar, Vijayanagar II Stage, Bengaluru-560 040.
2. V.C. Reddappachetty, S/o. Venkataramaiah Chetty, Aged about 64 years, R/o. No.1014, Ramya Sadan, 11th Main, RPC Layout, Hampinagar, Vijayanagar II Stage, Bengaluru-560 040. … Petitioners (By Sri. Ashok Harnahalli, Senior Advocate Along with Sri. Brijesh Patil, Advocate) AND:
1. The State by Kodigehalli Police Kodigehalli Police Station, Bengaluru.
Represented by State Public Prosecutor, High Court of Karnataka Building, Bengaluru-560 001.
2. Girish Sanu, S/o. Chandrakanth P. Sanu, Aged about 35 years, R/at. E-O, Krishna Glade Apartments, Seshadripuram, Bengaluru-560 024. . . Respondents (By Sri. Vijayakumar Majage, Addl., SPP., for Respondent No.1, Smt. Bhuvaneshwari, Advocate for Respondent No.2 Absent) This Criminal Petition filed under Section-482 of Cr.P.C., by the Advocate for the petitioners praying to quash the entire proceedings in PCR No.17674/2013, on the file of the IV Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Bengaluru in Cr.No. 257/2013 of Kodigehalli Police Station, Bengaluru city in respect of these petitioners.
This Criminal Petition Coming on for final admission, this day, the Court made the following:
O R D E R Petitioners have sought to quash the proceedings initiated against them in PCR No.17674/2013, on the file of the IV ACMM., Bengaluru, and subsequent FIR registered in crime No.257/2013 of Kodigehalli Police station for the offences punishable under Sections 197, 423, 167, 218, 403, 420, 468, 471, 120, 405 & 464 of the Indian Penal Code.
2. The complainant-respondent No.2 herein, claims to be a prior agreement holder in respect of the land measuring 1 acre 33 guntas, comprised in Sy.No.78/6 (in FIR mentioned as Sy.No.176/6) of Nagavara village, Kasaba Hobli, Bengaluru North taluk. According to the complainant, accused Nos. 3 to 7 being the owners of the said property, had executed an agreement of sale dated 06.07.2009 in favour of the complainant. The grievance of the petitioner is that during the subsistence of this agreement, with an intention to cheat and de-fraud the complainant, accused Nos. 3 to 7, subsequently entered into an agreement of sale with the petitioners herein (accused No.1 & 2) and transferred the said property in favour of the accused Nos. 1 & 2 by executing registered deed of sale dated 10.12.2012. It is the further case of the complainant that even the said deed is undervalued with an intention to cause loss to the State exchequer. The complainant sought prosecution of the petitioners (accused Nos. 1 & 2) as well as accused Nos. 3 to 7 for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 197, 423, 167, 218, 403, 420, 468, 471, 120, 405 & 464 of the Indian Penal Code, by filing a private complaint under Section-
200 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The said private complaint has been referred for investigation under Section 156(3) of Cr.P.C, to the jurisdictional police. At that stage, the petitioners have approached this Court, seeking to quash the private complaint in PCR.No.17674/2013 and the FIR registered against them in crime No.257/2013 of Kodigehalli police Station for the above offences.
3. A reading of the contents of the private complaint indicates that the dispute between the parties is purely civil in nature. The complainant claims to be a prior agreement holder and according to him, said agreement was executed in his favour on 06.07.2009. There is nothing on record to indicate that until the properties were purchased by the petitioners herein, the complainant-respondent No.2 herein has either sought for registration of the said properties in his name or he has invoked the jurisdiction of the civil Court, seeking specific performance of the said agreement. On the other hand, the records indicate that only after the purchase of the said property by the petitioners herein, the complainant has filed a civil suit for specific performance in O.S.No.1430/2014 and has sought for cancellation of the sale deed executed in favour of these petitioners. The matter is now seized by the Civil Court in O.S. NO.1430/2014 4. The averments made by the complainant in his private complaint do not make out the ingredients of any of the criminal offences mentioned above. Except stating that with an intention to cheat the complaint and to cause loss to the Revenue, accused Nos. 3 to 7 have transferred the said properties in favour of the petitioners herein (accused Nos. 1 & 2), in the wake of the above facts and circumstances, these allegations are not sufficient to attract the ingredients of the criminal offences against the petitioners. The complainant has already invoked the jurisdiction of the civil Court in O.S.No.1430/2014. Therefore, invoking the criminal process by filing a private complaint for the very same relief has turned out to be an abuse of process of the Court and as such the impugned proceedings cannot be allowed to be continued.
Accordingly, the petition is allowed. The proceedings initiated against the petitioners in PCR. No.17674/2013 and subsequent FIR in crime No.257/2013 of Kodigehalli Police Station, pending on the file of the IV Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, in so far as it relates to the petitioners herein (accused Nos. 1 & 2) are hereby quashed.
In view of the disposal of the main petition, IA- 1/2016 for vacating stay does not survive for consideration and the same stands disposed of SD/- JUDGE VR