2006 Supreme(P&H) 4397
PUNJAB & HARYANA HIGH COURT
Satish Kumar Mittal, J.
Larsen And Toubro Ltd.
Versus
Central Bureau Of Investigation
Criminal Miscellaneous No. 13062 of 2005,
Decided On : NOVEMBER 27, 2006
Headnote:
Criminal Breach of Trust - Registration of FIR - Code of Criminal Procedure - [Sections 154, 156(3), 200] - The court dismissed the petition seeking direction to register a criminal case against the respondent company and its officials for criminal breach of trust, cheating, and other offenses. The petitioner company failed to provide any written or oral complaint to the police or the Judicial Magistrate, and the court found that the petitioner had not exhausted the alternative remedies available under the Code of Criminal Procedure. The court held that the exercise of inherent power under Section 482 of the Code is to be confined to rare cases warranting judicial review by the High Court, and the petitioner had not presented any exceptional circumstances to warrant the court's intervention.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner company entered into a contract with the respondent company for construction work, but disputes arose regarding the completion of the project. The respondent company filed a complaint against the officials and workers of the petitioner company, leading to the registration of an FIR. The petitioner company alleged a counter version of the events but failed to provide any written or oral complaint to the police or the Judicial Magistrate.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the petitioner company had not exhausted the alternative remedies available under the Code of Criminal Procedure, such as providing a written complaint to the police or the Judicial Magistrate. The court held that the exercise of inherent power under Section 482 of the Code is to be confined to rare cases warranting judicial review by the High Court, and the petitioner had not presented any exceptional circumstances to warrant the court's intervention.
Issues: The main issue was whether the court should exercise its inherent power to issue a direction to register a criminal case against the respondent company and its officials for the alleged offenses.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the petitioner company had not exhausted the alternative remedies available under the Code of Criminal Procedure, such as providing a written complaint to the police or the Judicial Magistrate. The court emphasized that the exercise of inherent power under Section 482 of the Code is to be confined to rare cases warranting judicial review by the High Court, and the petitioner had not presented any exceptional circumstances to warrant the court's intervention.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the petition seeking direction to register a criminal case against the respondent company and its officials for criminal breach of trust, cheating, and other offenses.
Satish Kumar Mittal, J.
1. Initially, the petitioner had filed this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, which was treated as one under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as `the Code), vide order dated February 25, 2005, passed by this Court.
2. M/s Larsen and Toubro Limited (hereinafter referred to as the petitioner company) has filed this petition for issuing direction to respondents No. 1, 2 and 5 to register an FIR against M/s Abhishek Industries Limited-respondent No. 6 (hereinafter referred to as the respondent company) and its Director Rajinder Gupta-respondent No. 7, for committing the offence of criminal breach of trust, cheating, criminal intimidation, forcible taking of signatures in order to commit fraud/extortion, mis-appropriation of equipments, material and machinery of the respondent company and for false implication of the petitioner company in a criminal case, which were committed by them on 27.7.2004 and 28.7.2004.
3. The facts and events, which are necessary for the disposal of this case, are re-produced in chronological order.
4. The petitioner company entered into a contract on 14.11.2003 with the respondent company for the construction of weaving and processing unit of the respondent company at Village Dhaula, Barnala (Punjab). As per the terms of the contract, the said work was required to be completed by the petitioner company by 30.4.2004, which was subsequently extended upto 31.7.2004. It is the case of the respondent company that in a meeting held between the petitioner company and the respondent company on 27.7.2004, it was agreed that the petitioner company would complete the work and wind up the site by 31.8.2004, failing which the petitioner company shall not be given further opportunity and the balance work shall be completed at the risk and cost of the petitioner company. Though it is the case of the petitioner company that signatures of Shri S. Subramaniam, their Construction Manager, were taken forcibly under duress, but the matter was not reported to the police on the same day or on the next day.
5. On 28.7.2004, one employee of the respondent company, namely Basant Singh, lodged a complaint to the police alleging therein that at about 10.00 a.m., when the complainant along with other officers of the company was taking routine round at the site of construction, they found that proper material was not being used by the representatives of the petitioner company. When they pointed out the defects, the officials of the petitioner company became agitated. Suddenly, certain officials of the petitioner company and many workers assembled and Shri S. Subramaniam, Construction Manager, started hurling filthy abuses and he exhorted the group of officials and labourers to catch hold the officers of the respondent company and to threw them into furnace of the boiler of the adjoining plant. Thereupon, a group of about 10 workers from the said mob, who were armed with lathies, came forward and one of the workers hit the lathi in the head of the complainant Basant Singh in order to kill him. The other workers attacked the officials of the respondent company with their weapons and tried to catch hold them and gave beatings to them. Subsequently, those workers assembled in front of the Administrative block of the Project Officer of the respondent company and started pelting stones and raising slogans and they caused damage to the machines installed in TTD Unit II. On the basis of this complaint, FIR No. 126 dated 28.7.2004 was registered against the officials and workers of the petitioner company at Police Station Tapa under Sections 307/364/452/427/511/148/ 149/120-B IPC. In the FIR, the complainant specifically named 16 officials of the petitioner company who had participated in the assault.
6. On 29.7.2004, petitioner company wrote a letter to the DGP, Punjab, requesting for a fair investigation in the aforesaid FIR by some senior polic