The main legal point established in the judgment is that the court can exercise its inherent powers under Sec. 482 Cr.P.C to prevent abuse of process of Court or secure ends of justice when the allegations in the complaint do not prima facie constitute any offence.

1. By consent, the matter is taken up for final hearing. The petition is filed seeking a direction to call for the records in Cr. No.41/2010 on the file of the first respondent and quash the same.

2. The brief facts of the case is as follows:

The defacto-complainant is a Company represented by the second respondent, who is the General Manager. The Company is acquiring and developing properties and in the course of their business, they had purchased 17 acres 18 cents of land at Jameen Pallavaram Village , Tambaram from various persons. The Company is in possession and enjoyment of the land. Gorden Woodroff Limited was a Company (hereinafter referred to as GWL" )carrying on business of leather tanning and manufacture of leather goods till December 1994.The said Company became sick and the business was closed on the same year. The Company came out of the sickness and diversified its business to real estate. The Company was owning 109.39 acres of land at Jameen Palalvaram. They have also conveyed 22.28 acres on 4.12.2003. GWL applied for Encumbrance Certificate for the remaining land of measuring 87.11 acres in March 2008. The Encumbrance Certificate revealed certain entries in the name of SNP Ventures Private Limited, the defacto-complainant herein, for a land measuring 11.75 acres. Since there is a counter claim, GWL filed a civil suit in O.S.No.169 of 2008 against the defacto-complainant before the District Court, Chengalpattu. The suit was for a declaration against various sale deeds in favour of the defacto-complainant. Later, the patta issued to the said GWL was also cancelled and an appeal filed against the same is pending. GWL has been claiming the property by virtue of two sale deeds dated 10.3.1922 and 27.6.1922. On the basis of the above two sale deeds they have approached the Tahsildar, Tambaram and obtained patta.

3. Meanwhile, the defacto-complainant Company verified with the Registrar's Office, Saiapet, regarding the two sale deeds as claimed by GWL. It is found that the alleged document Nos.1551 of 1922 dated 10.3.1922 and 1575 of 1922 dated 27.6.1922 pertains to transaction between some private parties and not concerned with GWL. The Sub Registrar also informed that there was no transaction during the year 1922 in respect of the subjected lands at Jameen Pallavaram. Having found so, the defacto-complainant has given a complaint against the representatives of GWL properties for the alleged offence of forgery and production of fraudulent documents and for making false statement.

4. On such a complaint dated 25.3.2010 given by the second respondent, the Inspector of Police, Central Crime Branch, Chennai Suburban, St. Thomas Mount has registered a case in Cr.No.41 of 2010 for the offence punishable under Secs.468 and 471 IPC against the first petitioner showing him as the Manager of the Company and showing the 2nd petitioner as Senior Manager and the third petitioner as Director of GWL. Aggrieved by the registration of the case against these petitioners, they are before this Court for quashing of the first information on various grounds and more particularly, on the ground that the petitioners 1 and 3 are legal advisers on a monthly legal retainer fee and the 2nd petitioner, being a retired Senior Manager of the Company, have nothing to do with the document of the year 1922.

5. Mr.R. Shanmuga Sundaram, learned Senior Counsel who appeared for Mr.T.K.S. Gandhi, the petitioners' counsel, would submit that the complaint, on the face of the allegation, will not make out a prima-facie offence against the petitioners. The learned Senior Counsel also submitted that GWL was a Company of high repute and has been granted patta for a total extent of 109.39 acres of Jameen Pallavaram and after finding out that there is a rival claim of 11.75 acres of land, GWL filed a civil suit in O.S.No.169 of 2008 and when the patta granted to GWL was cancelled by the Tahsildar without notice, they have applied for a fresh patta and t