Mere pendency of a civil proceeding concerning the matter involved is not a bar to the initiation of criminal proceeding, provided the action complained amounts to a criminal offence.

S.N. Jha, J.

1. All these applications have been heard together as common questions of law arising out of same facts are involved in theses applications and they are being disposed of by this common judgment with the consent of the parties.

2. The petitioners, who deal in pumping sets and boring materials, have filed these applications for quashing the order of cognizance dated 9.11.1983 except Cr. Misc. No., 4346 of 1984 in which the impugned order taking cognizance is dated 5.3.1984, whereby the learned Special Judge has taken cognizance against them for an offence under Sections 120B, 420, 418, 477 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as the Penal Code') and under Section 5(2) read with Section 5(1) (c) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘P.C. Act').

3. In Cr. Misc. No. 6048 of 1984 the petitioner is the proprietor of M/s Kundan Machinery Stores, Gogari Jamalpur in the district of Khagaria. In Cr. Misc. No. 4346 of 1984 the petitioner is the proprietor of M/s Dinesh Machinery Stores, Jamalpur Gogari in the district of Khagaria. In Cr. Misc. No.2212 of 1984 the petitioner is the proprietor of M/s Usha Diesel Centre, Jamalpur Gogari in the district of Khagaria. In Cr. Misc. No. 10298 of 1984, the two petitioners are the partners of M/s Kiran Machinery Stores, Khagaria. In Cr. Misc. No. 11677 of 1984, the two petitioners are partners of M/s Laxmi Machinery Stores, Gogari Jamalpur, in the district of Khagaria. In Cr. Misc. No.7602 of 1984 the petitioner is the proprietor of M/s Balaji Machinery Stores, Khagaria. They all deal in pumping sets and boring materials and hereinafter referred to as "the dealers” for the sake of brevity.

4. The facts which led to the filing of these Applications, in short, are that a complaint was filed by the Deputy Superintendent of Police Central Bureau of Investigation, Patna, (hereinafter referred to as "the C.B.I.”) on an information received from reliable sources that one S.K Jha; while functioning as Branch Manager of Maheshkhut Branch of the State Bank of India (hereinafter referred to as 'the S.B.I.') in between the period January, 1981 to June, 1981 in conspiracy with B.N. Tripathi, Branch Head Cashier, and Mahendra Thakur, Messenger, of the said Branch of the S.B.I. and different dealers, mentioned above, misused his official position inasmuch as he fraudulently and dishonestly floated agricultural loan unauthorisedly to the tune of Rs. 1,12,85,173/- thereby causing huge lose to the S.B.I., a Government of India Undertaking with a view to get undue benefit to himself and others including the dealers.

5. For convenience sake, I am taking the facts as enumerated in the complaint petition filed in Cr. Misc. No. 10298 of 1984, which is Annexure-1 appended to the said application. It is stated in the said complaint petition that the said Branch Manager of the said Branch of the S.B.I. during the aforesaid period in conspiracy with the said B.N. Tripathi, Branch Head Cashier and Mahendra Thakur, Messenger, of the said Bank and with M/s Kiran Machinery Stores of Gogari Jamalpur, a private dealer of pumping set and boring materials and others, misused his official position inasmuch as he fraudulently and dishonestly floated agricultural loan to the tune of Rs. 38,82,348/- beyond his competence and in violation of the instructions/norms laid down by the said Bank in the names of 532 borrowers including several fake and fictitious persons, towards 524 pump sets, 531 boring and 5 Threshers and thereby caused huge loss to the S.B. I., a Govt. of India Undertaking.

6. It was alleged that number of glaring illegalities were committed in sanction and disbursement of agricultural loan, namely:

(i) Although Maheshkhut Branch was, a non-intensive Branch and no village had been adopted for agricultural financing the Branch Manager sanctioned and disbursed the agricultural loans unauthorisedly to the tune of Rs.1,12,85,173/- within a period of about 6