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Showing contexts for: Noting in Arun Bhandari vs State Of U.P.& Ors on 10 January, 2013Matching Fragments
5. The Investigating Officer, after completing the investigation, submitted the final report stating that the case was of a civil nature and no criminal offence had been made out. The appellant filed a protest petition before the learned Magistrate stating, inter alia, that the accused persons had colluded with the Investigating Officer and the Station House Officer as a result of which the Investigation Officer, on 22.10.2009, had concluded the investigation observing that the dispute was of the civil nature and intended to submit the final report before the court. The appellant coming to know about the same submitted an application before the concerned Area Officer, who, taking note of the same, handed over the investigation to another S.S.I. of Police on 24.11.2009. The said Investigating Officer recorded statements of the concerned Sub-Registrar, the Chief Executive Officer of Greater Noida Authority, from whose statements it was evident that the accused persons were never the owners of the property in question and the original allottee had not appeared in the Greater Noida Authority and not transferred any documents. He also recorded the statement of original allottee who had stated that the property was allotted in her name in 2005 and on a proposal being made by Raghuvinder Singh, a friend of her husband, to sell the property she executed an agreement to sell in his favour and a General Power of Attorney in the name of his wife, Savita Singh, at his instance but possession was not handed over to them. He also examined one Sharad Kumar Sharma, who was a witness to the agreement to sell and the Power of Attorney executed by the original allottee, and said Sharma had stated that the General Power of Attorney was executed to implement the agreement to sell executed in favour of Raghuvinder Singh. The Investigating Officer obtained an affidavit from the complainant which was kept in the case diary, and on 25.2.2010 it was recorded in the case diary that a criminal offence had been made out against the accused persons. The case diary also evinced that there was an effort for settlement between the informant and the accused persons and the accused persons were ready to return the amount of Rs.1,05,00,000/- to the appellant. On 10.3.2010, he made an entry to file the charge- sheet against the respondents under Sections 420, 406, 567, 468 and 479 of the IPC. At this stage, the accused persons again colluded with the previous Investigating Officer and the Station House Officer and got the investigation transferred to the previous Investigating Officer. Coming to know about the said development, the appellant submitted a petition before the Senior Superintendent of Police, Gautam Budh Nagar on 6.5.2010, but before any steps could be taken by the higher authority, the said Investigating Officer submitted a final report stating that no offence under the IPC had been made out. In the protest petition it was urged that the whole case diary should be perused and appropriate orders may be passed.
7. Being dissatisfied with the said order, the respondents preferred Criminal Revision No. 108 of 2010 before the learned Sessions Judge contending, inter alia, that the FIR had been lodged with an ulterior motive to pressurize the respondents to return the earnest money and the complainant had, in fact, committed breach of the terms of the agreement; that the allegations made in the FIR could only be ascertained on the basis of evidence and documents by a civil court of competent jurisdiction regard being had to the nature of the dispute; that the learned Magistrate had taken cognizance without any material in the case diary; and that the exercise of power under Section 190(1)(b) of the CrPC was totally unwarranted in the case at hand. The revisional court scanned the material brought on record, perused the case diary in entirety, took note of the conduct of the Investigating Officer who had submitted the final report stating that the allegations did not constitute any criminal offence despite the material brought on record during the course of investigation by the Investigating Officer, who was appointed at the instance of the Area Officer, scrutinized the substance of material collected to the effect that Raghuvinder Singh had no right, title and interest in the property and a General Power of Attorney was executed in favour of his wife to sell, transfer and convey all rights, title and interest in the plot in question on behalf of the original allottee and that the husband and wife had concealed the material factum of execution of Power of Attorney from the complainant and opined that both the accused persons had fraudulent and dishonest intention since the beginning of the negotiation with the complainant and, therefore, the allegations prima facie constituted a criminal offence and it could not be said that it was a pure and simple dispute of civil nature. Being of this view he gave the stamp of approval to the order passed by the learned Magistrate.
16. From the aforesaid decision it is quite clear that this Court recorded a finding that there was no averment in the complaint that intention to deceive on the part of the accused was absent right from the beginning of the negotiation of the transaction as the said allegation had neither been expressly made nor indirectly suggested in the complaint. This Court took note of the fact that only non-disclosure was that one of their brothers had filed a partition suit which was pending and the allegation that such a disclosure was not made intentionally to deceive the complainant was absent. It is worthy to note that this Court referred to certain averments in the complaint petition and scrutinized the allegations and recorded the aforesaid finding. The present case, as we perceive, stands on a different factual matrix altogether. The learned Sessions Judge has returned a finding that there was intention to deceive from the very beginning, namely, at the time of negotiation but the High Court has dislodged the same on the foundation that the respondent No. 2 was merely present and there was no privity of contract between the complainant and her. We will advert to the said factual analysis at a later stage after discussing the other authorities which have been placed reliance upon by the learned senior counsel for the respondents.
18. In B. Suresh Yadav (supra) the complainant, who was defendant in the suit, had filed a written statement from which it was manifest that she at all material times was aware of the purported demolition of the rooms standing on the suit property. It was contended in the written statement that the suit properties were different from the subject-
matter of the deed of sale. After filing the written statement the respondent had filed the complaint under Section 420 of the IPC. The Court took note of the fact that there existed a dispute as to whether the property whereupon the said two rooms were allegedly situated was the same property forming the subject-matter of the deed of sale or not and a civil suit had already been filed pertaining to the said dispute. The Court also took note of the fact that at the time of execution of the sale deed the accused had not made any false or misleading representation and there was no omission on his part to do anything which he could have done. Under these circumstances, the Court opined that the dispute between the parties was basically a civil dispute. It is apt to note here that the Court also opined that when a stand had been taken in a complaint petition which is contrary to or inconsistent with the stand taken by him in a civil suit, the same assumes significance and had there been an allegation that the accused got the said two rooms demolished and concealed the said fact at the time of execution of the deed of sale, the matter would have been different. Being of this view, this Court quashed the criminal proceeding as that did amount to abuse of the process of the court. On an x-ray of the factual score, it can safely be stated that the said pronouncement renders no assistance to the lis in question.