JUDGMENT :

Heard Mr. A. Bora, learned Senior counsel for the petitioners assisted by Mr. V. Chowdhury, learned counsel, Mr. P. Goswami, learned counsel and Mr. Pfosekho Pfotte, learned counsel. Also heard Mr. P. Chowdhury, learned counsel for respondent No. 2 and Mr. K. Angami, learned PP for the State of Nagaland.

2. This criminal petition under section 482 of Cr.PC, 1973 has been filed by the petitioners for quashing of the criminal proceedings in Complaint Case-CR Case No.06/2017 filed under Section 190 read with section 200 of the Cr.PC, 1973 against the petitioners and also assailing the impugned order dated 09.04.2019 passed by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dimapur, Nagaland in C.R. Case No. 06/2017 whereby the learned Magistrate had taken cognizance of offences under Sections 405/406/409/415/420 IPC read with Sections 34/120B of the IPC and issued process against all the 7(seven) persons arraigned therein as accused including the present petitioners.

3. The petitioner No. 1, Engineering Projects (India) Limited is a company, Government of India Enterprise and the petitioner Nos. 2 to 6 are employees in the company functioning in different capacities. Pending present petition, the petitioner No. 2 & 3 died, Respondent 2 has been striked off by the order dated 04.07.2022. The petitioners have approached this Court jointly as the reliefs sought for are common and identical in nature.

4. The case of the petitioners is that a complaint petition was filed by M/S J.A. Brothers, represented by its proprietor, Sri. James Akham before the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dimapur, Nagaland against the petitioners alleging inter-alia, commission of offences under Sections 405/406/409/415/420 of IPC read with Sections 34/120B of IPC. The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dimapur, Nagaland on receipt of the complaint petition took cognizance on 12.06.2017 and issued process against all the 7 (seven) accused named in the complaint including the present petitioners directing them to appear before the said Court. On receipt of the summons, the petitioners approached this Court being Criminal Petition No. 9(K)/2017 challenging the cognizance order dated 12.06.2017 whereby this Court by order dated 28.02.2019 set aside the impugned order dated 12.06.2017 on the ground of non-compliance with the provisions of Section 200 and 202 of Cr.PC and remanded back the case to the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dimapur, Nagaland. In compliance with the order of this Court, the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dimapur, Nagaland again took cognizance of the case on 09.04.2019 against the petitioners under Sections 405/406/409/415/420 of IPC read with Sections 34/120B of IPC without compliance of the mandatory provisions under Section 200 Cr.PC.

5. The facts behind the institution of the complaint by the respondent no. 2 are as follows:

(i) That Engineering Projects (India) Limited (hereinafter referred to as Petitioner No. 1.) being desirous of “Construction of Platoon Level-10 Nos. and Company Level – 03 Nos. of BOP along Indo-Bangladesh Border in the State of Mizoram”, on behalf of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Border Management, Government of India, had published a Notice Inviting Tender bearing No. DLI/CON/644/346 dated 14.09.2012 inviting Percentage Rate Tenders in two bids (Techno Commercial & Price Bid) for the construction work of 10 Nos. of Platoon Level Border Out Posts (BOP) and 03 Nos. Company Level of Border Out Posts (BOP) along India – Bangladesh Border in the State of Mizoram at an Estimated Cost of Rs. 65.24/-Crores. The time of completion of the Work was 18 (eighteen) months.

(ii) that the complainant-M/s J.A. Brothers (hereinafter referred to as R2 ) had participated in the above-referred tender process vide their Tender dated 28.09.2012 and Engineering Projects (India) Limited, Petitioner No. 1, had accepted the tender of M/s J.A. Brothers, R2, and a Letter of Intent (LoI) dated 19.11.2012 was issu