IMPORTANT POINT
Commission of an offence by raising a legal fiction or by creating a vicarious liability in terms of the provisions of a statute must be expressly stated.

JUDGMENT

S.B. Sinha, J.—

1. Leave granted.

2. First respondent is a practising advocate. He is a resident of Gharda Villa, 1st Floor, situated at 48, Hill Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai.

M/s Gharda Chemicals Limited is a deemed public limited company registered and incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956. It has its registered office at 5/6, Jer Mansion, First Floor, W.P. Varde Marg, Tuner Road, Bandra (West) in the town of Mumbai. Appellant No. 1 (Accused No. 1) is the Chairman cum Managing Director of the said Company. Appellants 2 to 5 are the Directors thereof and the Appellant No. 6 is an Architect. It is stated that Appellants 1 and 3 are no longer associated with the Company.

Gharda Villa, in which the first respondent resides and the premises known as ‘Khaiber Property’ are adjacent to each other. They were said to be belonging to Hormasji Dinshawji Gharda since deceased. The Company is said to be the owner of the property. Gharda House being an old building was required to be demolished and reconstructed. Several proceedings, however, were initiated in respect of the said building by the Bombay Municipal Corporation.

3. Father of the first respondent filed a suit in the year 1978 in his capacity as a tenant against the predecessor-in-interest of the Company. An application for amendment of the plaint was filed in the said suit on 17.4.1998. It is stated that the said application for amendment was dismissed. An appeal allegedly was preferred thereagainst. An interim relief prayed for by the first respondent in the said appeal is also said to have been rejected. In regard to the proposed action on the part of the Company to demolish and reconstruct the said building, the first respondent had initiated various proceedings. Bombay Municipal Corporation also issued a stop-work notice dated 25.7.1998, which was said to have been withdrawn on 21.5.1999. When repair work on the road upon removing the debris lying on a portion of the land was started, a first information report was lodged by the first respondent before Bandra Police Station against the officers of the Company and the representatives of the Contractor. A charge sheet was also filed before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, 9th Court, Bandra in that case. However, after one month the first respondent again filed a private complaint before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, 9th Court, Bandra in regard to the same incident wherein not only the original accused were made parties but also appellants were made accused Nos. 1 to 6. A verification statement was made by the first respondent on 6.8.1999, the relevant portion whereof reads as under:

“On 06.06.1999 at about 10.00 a.m. Accused No. 8, 9 along with workers of Accused No. 11, came on site along with road roller and dumpers, and began putting hot sticky tar on the road Gardha Villa, I complaint to the Bandra Police Station Accused No. 8 was warned by the duty officer of Bandra Police Station. To stop the work and get the clarification from the Small Causes Court. Though Accused No. 8 assured to stop the work, he again, started the tarring of the access to Gardha Villa I again went to Police Station. And complained against it. Accused No. 7 and 8 were called to Police Station. And were warned that they will booked for wrongly red trained if they will continuing the tarring the access road. Accused Nos. 7 and 8 assured to duty officer that they will stop the work, when I returned from Police Station. I found that the work was still continuing and accused No. 8 and 10 along with Accused No.11, were continuing the work, I lodged my complaint at about 3:20 p.m. on 06.06.1999 and my FIR was register under C.R. No. 257/1999 and accused Nos. 7 to 10 were arrested for wrongful restrained U/Sec. 341 IPC, 34 IPC and was subsequently released on bail. The driver’s of Accused No. 11 was also detained by Bandra Police Station. At about 5:00 p.m., Accused No. 11 came on site and requested him to assist