The court established that criminal proceedings cannot be initiated for civil disputes, emphasizing that the FIR was an abuse of process aimed at coercing payment in a contractual matter.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Shri S.C. Mishra, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Shri Rajat Pradhan, Advocate, Shri Abhishek Awasthi, Advocate, Shri Ankit Yadav and Shri Nadeem Murtaza learned Counsel for the petitioner and Shri Amal Rastogi, Advocate, Shri Pritish Kumar, learned Counsel for the private respondent, learned A.G.A. for the State-respondents and perused the material placed on record.

2. These writ petitions, have been filed seeking quashing of FIR/Case Crime No.0514/2022 dated 03.08.2022 under Sections 352/406/420/447 and 506 Indian Penal Code, 1860, registered at Police Station-Vibhuti Khand Gomti Nagar, District-Lucknow

3. As the factual matrix in the above-captioned writ petitions emancipates from the same impugned First Information Report(FIR), these petitions are being decided by this common judgment.

4. Brief facts of the case are that the FIR was registered on the basis of a written complaint by Respondent Nos. 4 to 27, in relation to a premises situated at Rohtas Presidential Arcade, No. TC-G 4/4, Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow 226010, Uttar Pradesh ("Premises") leased by Rohtas Projects Limited ("Rohtas") in favour of Decathlon Sports India Private Limited ("Decathlon") for alleged offences committed by the petitioners. It has been alleged in the said FIR that: -

(i) The respondents had purchased the premises from Rohtas through registered sale deeds.

(ii) Prior to such purchase by the said respondents, the premises were leased to Decathlon for a period of 20 years.

(iii) Even after selling the premises to the said respondents, Rohtas used to collect rent from Decathlon and make over such rent to the said respondents.

(iv) However, since the year 2018, the Directors and employees of Rohtas became unavailable and ran away with entire money of all investors.

(v) Further, during the same time, Decathlon also stopped paying rent in respect of the Premises, despite repeated demands being made by the said Respondents.

(vi) On 15 July 2022, the said Respondents got to know from reliable sources that Decathlon had opened a new showroom in the LuLu Mall and shifted their entire goods from the Premises to the said Mall.

(vii) In such circumstances, the said Respondents found that the Premises was lying vacant and accordingly they proceeded to lock it.

(viii) According to these respondents, a sum of INR 5 Crores has become due and payable by Decathlon on account of unpaid rent from the year 2018 till July 2022.

(ix) It has been further alleged that, after these respondents had put lock on their premises, some officers of Decathlon came back to the Premises and forcefully put their own locks on the Store. Upon being opposed, the said officers of Decathlon began to assault the said Respondents. The said representatives of Decathlon were acting on the instructions of the Petitioners and/or other accused persons named in the FIR.

(x) One of Decathlon's representatives went on to threaten the said Respondents that in the event they continued to demand the unpaid rents, they might end up losing their lives.

(xi) Thus, it has been concluded in the complaint that Decathlon's employees were planning and intended to embezzle and/or misappropriate the said sum of INR 5 Crores.

5. On the basis of the aforesaid allegations, the Vibhuti Khand Police Station, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow proceeded to register the impugned FIR for investigation into offences punishable under Sections 352/406/420/447/506 of the IPC against the Petitioners.

6. The petitioners are employees of Decathlon S.A., France and/or its subsidiaries including Decathlon, a company within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1956 (as amended from time to time) with its registered office at Survey No. 78/10 A2, Chikkajala Village, Bellary Road, Bangalore 562157, Karnataka, India. It is claimed that Decathlon is engaged in retail business of sporting goods and equipment across various cities in India and as far as the lead petition being Criminal Misc. Writ Petition No. - 6997 of 2022 is conc