IMPORTANT POINT
The court affirmed that mere availability of civil remedies does not negate criminal liability, allowing the investigation to proceed based on sufficient prima facie allegations.

ORDER :

Venkata Jyothirmai Pratapa, J.

The instant petitions under Section 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973[for short ‘Cr.P.C’] have been filed by the Petitioners/Accused Nos.1 to 3 and 4 & 5 respectively, seeking to quash the proceedings against them in Crime No.2 of 2020 on the file of Kadapa Taluq U/G Police Station, YSR Kadapa District, which was registered for the offence punishable under Sections 420 and 506 read with 34 of Indian Penal Code, 1860[for short ‘IPC’].

2. The facts mentioned in the complaint, in brief, are as follows:

a. Accused Nos.2 and 5 are the wives of Accused No.1, Accused No.3 is the younger sister of Accused No.1 and Accused No.4 is the friend of Accused No.1. In the year 2011, one Saleem Bhaskar Naidu, Advocate, Dhone, who is his classmate introduced Accused No.1 to Respondent No.2/ Complainant. Subsequently, Accused Nos.1 to 3 approached Respondent No.2/Complainant and requested to arrange money for their business purpose by agreeing to mortgage the house properties of Accused No.1.

b. Pursuant to their request, Respondent No.2 sent an amount of Rs.1,56,00,000/- on various dates from 07.04.2018 to 06.02.2019 through RTGS/NEFT from his bank accounts to the bank accounts of Accused Nos.1 to 3. He had also given an amount of Rs.1,94,00,000/- to them by way of cash on different dates.

c. In December, 2018, Accused Nos.1 to 3 came to his house and executed an unregistered Mortgage Deed at his house in Kadapa mortgaging their house properties and clearly mentioned in the said Mortgage Deed about receipt of total amount of Rs.3,50,00,000/- and also mentioned that they will discharge the said amount by 28.02.2019 and get the properties redeemed and in default of payment of the said amount, they will execute regular registered sale deed of the said properties.

d. Subsequently, Respondent No.2 was given to understand that Accused Nos.1 and 2 already executed an agreement of sale on 19.11.2018 in favour of one Y.B. Sreelatha @ Seelam Sreelatha, W/o.Bhaskar Naidu with regard to the mortgaged properties and they suppressed about the said agreement of sale.

e. After three months, when the Complainant demanded for repayment of the said amount, they gave evasive and aggressive reply and threatened him that they have got acquaintance with the Higher Officials, political influence and rowdy elements and are also trying to kill him to evade the payment, with the help of Accused Nos.2, 4 and 5 and thereby cheated the Complainant.

f. Accused Nos.1 to 5 intentionally and knowing fully well that they had no right over the said property, mortgaged the same, inducing him to part with his money with an intention to deceive him. As such, he lodged the present complainant which was registered as a case in Crime No.2 of 2020 for the offences under Sections 420 and 506 read with 34 IPC against Accused Nos.1 to 5.

Grounds Sought for quashment :

3. Aggrieved by the registration of the said Crime, Petitioners/Accused Nos.1 to 5 filed the present petitions seeking quashment of the proceedings against them on the following grounds.

a. Petitioners are no way connected with the above said offences. Even as per the complaint, all the allegations are vague and civil in nature. Therefore, investigation against the Petitioners/Accused Nos.1 to 5 is not permissible in the eye of Law.

b. The alleged transaction is a loan transaction and cheating does not arise in this case as the Accused did not receive the money with an intention to cheat the Complainant. The Complainant has to file a suit for recovery of money. The Complaint is silent about the specific dates and amounts alleged to have been lent by the Complainant to the Accused.

c. Petitioners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 had already executed an agreement of sale with regard to the house properties in favour of Y.B.Sreelatha @ Seelam Sreelatha.

d. The Complainant is highly educated person and it is unbelievable that he had given huge amount of Rs.3,50,00,000/- to the Accused without taking any promisso