Criminal proceedings cannot be initiated or continued when the dispute is purely civil in nature and when there is an abuse of process of law.

JUDGMENT

DUPPALA VENKATA RAMANA, J. - This Criminal Petition is filed by the Petitioners (A.1 and A.2) under Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short 'Cr.P.C') to quash the proceedings in C.C.446/2014 pending on the file of the learned I Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Proddatur, Y.S.R.Kadapa District for the offence under Sec.420 r/w 34 IPC.

2. Perusal of the record would reveal that the Petitioners herein are Accused Nos.1 and 2 and the 2nd respondent herein is the defacto complainant and the offence alleged against the petitioners is under Sec. 420 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code (for short 'I.P.C').

3. The brief allegations of the complaint filed by the 2nd respondent are that the 2nd respondent and the 1st petitioner jointly started "Sivani Super Market" at Mydukur. The 1st petitioner was kept as a working partner whereas the 2nd respondent was the sleeping partner. For some time the business went on peacefully and thereafter the petitioners started enjoying without assessing the profits and thereafter the 1st petitioner started doing business independently without showing the accounts and tried to eliminate the 2nd respondent from the partnership firm. At that juncture, the elders intervened and directed the petitioners to pay cash of Rs.25, 00, 000.00 to the 2nd respondent and that the 2nd respondent would be dropped from the partnership. Thus, the petitioners with their deceptive intention promised to pay Rs.25, 00, 000.00 to the 2nd respondent towards his share and occupied the entire shop eliminating the 2nd respondent without paying the amount. Therefore, the 2nd respondent lodged a report and the same was registered as F.I.R in Cr.No.130/2014 under Secs.407, 420 & 465 r/w 34 IPC and during the course of the investigation, as Secs.407 & 465 IPC does not attract, the same were deleted and the charge sheet was filed under Sec.420 r/w 34 I.P.C.

4. In contra to the allegations mentioned in the report, the petitioners approached this Court seeking to quash the proceedings in C.C.446/2014 on the file of the learned I Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Proddatur, Y.S.R.Kadapa District. The brief allegations in the petition are that the 1st petitioner and the 2nd respondent are partners and they were running a supermarket in the name and style of 'Sivani Super Market'. Thereafter some disputes arose between them. The partnership firm was dissolved and later the 2nd petitioner started running supermarket as a proprietary concern. The 2nd respondent was interfering with the business, as such, the 2nd petitioner filed a suit in O.S.1 of 2014 on the file of Senior Civil Judge's Court at Proddatur seeking a permanent injunction against the 2nd respondent and the said suit is pending. As a counterblast to the suit, the present complaint was filed by the 2nd respondent against the petitioners, who are none other than the wife and husband. The averments in the complaint and the charge sheet disclose that the dispute is purely of civil nature. If any dispute arises with regard to the settlement of accounts or closing of business by a proprietary firm, it has to be settled through Civil Court. The 1st petitioner had settled the accounts and issued a cheque for Rs.83, 850.90 p.s., along with notice and sent to the 2nd respondent on 12/8/2013 and they were falsely implicated by the 2nd respondent during the pendency of the Civil suit against him. Therefore, the continuation of the proceedings against the petitioners is an abuse of the process of law and the same is liable to be quashed.

5. Heard both sides.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioners would submit that the 2nd respondent himself had given up his share due to the disputes between him and the 1st petitioner. Once the liability of the petitioners is admitted, there is no question of a criminal act. He would further submit that the matter was compromised between the parties before Lok Adalat and an award dt.20/9/2014 was also passed and the 2nd