The issuance and dishonour of a cheque do not in themselves establish criminal offences of cheating or theft; jurisdiction lies where the act occurs.

JUDGMENT :

Rakesh Kainthla, J.

The petitioners have filed the present petition for quashing of a private complaint bearing Criminal Complaint No. 5/2 of 2022 and further proceedings taken pursuant to it in the Court of learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Kasauli, District Solan, H.P. in a case titled Gagan Kapoor vs M/s Magic Mountain & ors. (Parties shall hereinafter be referred to in the same manner as they were arrayed before the learned Trial Court for convenience).

2. Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to the present petition are that the complainant filed a complaint before the learned Trial Court. It was asserted that the complainant is owner in possession of a building known as “The Nest”, Engine Ghar Road, Sanjauli, District Shimla, H.P. The complainant and accused No. 1 to 5 had execut ed a rent agreement on 26.12.2018, vide which the accused were inducted as a tenant by the complainant in a building known as “The Nest” @ Rs.1,00,000/- plus GST @18% per month, payable in advance on or before 7th day of every month. The rent amount alongwith 18% GST for the month of January was paid through a cheque. The accused were in arrears of monthly rent alongwith 18% GST from July 2019 onwards. They issued a cheque for Rs.6,80,000/- in favour of the complainant drawn on Indusind Bank Sanjauli, Shimla with the false assurance to the complainant that the cheque would be honoured on its presentation in the bank; however, when the complainant presented the cheque, it was dishonoured. The complainant filed a complaint for dishonour of the cheque, which is pending before learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kasauli, H.P. for adjudication. The accused used the materials including bricks, wood, glass, chairs etc. lying in the above-mentioned tenanted premises. They left the premises without informing the complainant and removed the furniture, fixtures, decoration items, light and other things thereby committing theft amounting to Rs.5.00 lac. They destroyed the glass windows, furniture and other available materials. A complaint was made to the Police Station at Sanjauli but no action was taken. Hence, it was prayed that action be taken against the accused for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 379 , 406, 420, and 427 read with Section 34 of IPC.

3. The learned Trial Court recorded the preliminary evidence and found sufficient reasons to summon the accused for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 379 , 406, 420, and 427 read with Section 34 of IPC.

4. Being aggrieved from the order passed by the learned Trial Court, the accused have filed the present petition asserting that the learned Trial C ourt erred in summoning the accused/petitioners. It was asserted that the condition of the premises was not fit for running smooth business of the restaurant. The toilet, washroom and Kitchen were not available and even the walls were not properly furnished. The accused contacted the complainant and it was orally decided that the accused would spend Rs.2,00,000/- for the construction of the toilet, washroom and kitchen and repair of the back walls and internal portion of the rented premises. It was also agreed that the accused would hand over three un-dated blank cheques to the complainant as security, which were to be returned at the time of leaving the premises. The accused handed over three undated signed blank cheques to the complainant as security. The complainant started interfering in the running of the business in June 2019. The accused could not run the business smoothly and earn a profit. They could not pay the rent for the month of July 2019. The complainant disrupted the water and electricity supply. He sent an e-mail on 12.08.2019. The accused replied that the delay in payment of rent was due to the loss in business caused by the intervention of the complainant. The complainant presented the cheque of Rs.1,00,000/- for encashment in March 2019 without the consent of the accused. The compla