The main legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation of the territorial jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code and the principles for quashing criminal complaints and proceedings.

JUDGMENT :

V.K. Shrivastava, J.

Petitioner has filed this petition under Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code, for quashing the criminal complaint and proceeding in Criminal Case No. 797/2001 (K. Ravindra Nair v. K. A. Ravindranathan) pending in the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (Ku. Pratibha Sathwane), Jabalpur.

2. Both, petitioner and respondent No. 1 are the members of Indian Coffee Workers Co-operative Society Ltd., Head Quarter 592, Malviya Marg, Jabalpur (MP). Indian Coffee Workers Co-operative Society Ltd. has its more than 50 establishments located in the States of M.P., Orissa, Kerala, A.P. and Chhatisgarh etc. The respondent No. 1 is working as a Senior General manager in the said society, prior to him the petitioner was the General Manager of the said society. In the month of March, 1999 for the membership of Managing Committee election took place and the petitioner contested to it, who lost the same. Thereafter he filed a complaint on 29-11-1999 against respondent No. 1 K. Ravindra Nair, O. K. Rajgopalan and P. S. Nair in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Durg, alleging that the Society had no branches at NTPC Nagpur and Padmanabhpur, however, under an illegal agreement, Coffee Houses at these places are running and the income derived there- from is fraudulently earned by O. K. Rajgopalan who never deposited a single penny in the account of Indian Coffee Workers Co-operative Society Ltd., Jabalpur and misappointed the same. P. S. Nair and K. Ravindra Nair, are also jointly responsible and accountable as they are maintaining the account of the said Society. The offence was committed by these persons at Padmanabhpur/Durg and the offences committed by them are covered under Sections 409, 420, 467 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code Judicial Magistrate First Class, Durg took the cognizance of the offence and after recording the evidence under Section 200 of the Criminal Procedure Code and enquiry as envisaged under Section 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code, registered a criminal case bearing No. 144/2001. Respondent No. 1, K. Ravindra Nair aggrieved by the said complaint and its proceeding challenging the legality and validity, filed a writ petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India before the High Court of M.P. at Jabalpur which was registered there as Writ Petition No. 1771/2001.

3. The aforesaid writ petition was disposed of by the High Court of M.P. vide order dated 30-4-2001 holding that the High Court has jurisdiction to entertain the said writ petition, however, the petitioner who filed the said writ petition submitted that the writ petition may be disposed of by observing that it would be open to the petitioner to file appropriate proceeding before the competent Court in the State of Chhattisgarh and accordingly the High Court of M.P. refrained itself from addressing in regard to defensibility of the order passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Durg and left the matter in the discretion of the said petitioner to assail the same, if so advised, before the Court in the State of Chhattisgarh. K. Ravindra Nair, did not assail the matter before any competent Court in the State of Chhattisargh, but instead of doing so he filed a complaint under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code against the petitioner before Judicial Magistrate First Class, Jabalpur (Ku. Pratibha Sathwane) who took cognizance under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code against the petitioner, K. A. Ravindranathan and registered the criminal case bearing No. 797/2001 against him. K. Ravindra Nair in that complaint very specifically stated that since K. A. Ravindranathan lost the election has started making false report before the Police Authority at Durg, making allegation against K. Ravindra Nair and when the Police refused to register the case, the petitioner, K. A. Ravindranathan filed a false, frivolous, vexatious complaint before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Durg, against Shri K. Ravindra Na