JUDGMENT :

The petitioner in this petition calls in question registration of crime in Crime No.100 of 2022 for offences punishable under Sections 406, 409, 418 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

2. Brief facts leading to the filing of the present petition, as borne out from the pleadings are, as follows:-

Petitioner is the Managing Director of one M/s Shriganesh Textiles and Infrastructure (India) Private Limited. The complainant is the Vice-President of M/s Himatsingka Company. Both M/s Shriganesh Textiles and Infrastructure (India) Private Limited and M/s Himatsingka Company are incorporated under the provisions of Companies Act, 1956. The petitioner/Company is in the business of conversion of cotton into cotton yarn and supplying it to the customers who deliver cotton bales to them. In the year 2021 the petitioner and the 2nd respondent/complainant entered into certain understanding with regard to supply of cotton and the petitioner agreed to convert such supplied cotton into yarn. It was agreed that the complainant would supply certain chunk of cotton bales for the petitioner to convert them into yarn and supply them back. This was the broad understanding between the petitioner and the complainant.

3. In the month of October, 2021 certain dispute arose between the petitioner and the complainant with regard to the yarn being produced and them not being lifted from the premises of the petitioner. Several meetings were held between the parties but disputes remained with regard to payment, retention and delivery of yarn and became an issue between the two. Correspondences by way of electronic mail were also exchanged between the parties from 16-01-2022 to 14-02-2022. When no consensus was arrived at with regard to their disputes, a legal notice was caused by the complainant upon the petitioner invoking the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (‘the Code’ for short) indicating that proceedings under the Code would be initiated and a corporate resolution process would be put into force, if the amount that is indicated in the notice would not be paid.

4. For the notice that was sent on 09-03-2022, the petitioner/Company herein replied on 23.03.2022 answering to the disputed questions of fact or the amount that was sought in the notice. The matter did not attain any finality therein. The complainant on 08-04-2022 approached the Superintendent of Police, Hassan by registering a complaint against the petitioner alleging that an amount of Rs.9,01,07,640.43 with respect to 519.80 tonnes of cotton fiber was yet to be made good by the petitioner. On the same day, a complaint was made to the Officer-in-charge of the jurisdictional police station which then becomes crime in Crime No.100 of 2022 for offences punishable under Sections 406, 409, 418, 420 of the IPC. On registration of crime. The petitioner has knocked the doors of this Court in the subject petition calling in question the very registration of crime on 08-04-2022 making the petitioner an accused.

5. Heard learned senior counsel Sri Sandesh J.Chouta appearing for Sri Madhukar Deshpande, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri K.S.Abhijith, learned High Court Government for respondent No.1 and learned senior counsel Sri C.V.Nagesh, representing Sri Sandeep Patil, learned counsel for respondent No.2.

6. The learned senior counsel representing the petitioner would urge the following contentions:

(1) The matter arises out of an understanding between the petitioner and the 2nd respondent/complainant and is purely civil in nature.

(2) The complainant having invoked the provisions of the Code could not have scuttled the process and set the criminal law in motion.

(3) The understanding was between the petitioner/Company and the complainant/Company, but the crime is registered only against the petitioner who is the Managing Director of the Company, without the Company being