ORDER :

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. With the consent of the learned Counsel for the parties, heard finally.

2. The Petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India assails the legality, propriety and correctness of an order dated 9 December 2022, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Mumbai, in Criminal Revision Application No.354 of 2021 whereby the revision application preferred by the Petitioner against the order dated 27 February 2019 passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, 11th Court, Kurla, in Complaint SS/1335 of 2018 for issue of process against the Petitioner for an offence punishable under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, came to be dismissed.

3. For the sake of convenience and clarity, the parties are hereinafter referred to in the capacity in which they are arraigned before the learned Magistrate in Complaint SS/1335 of 2018.

4. Shorn of superfluities, the background facts can be stated as under :

4.1 The complainant was working in Maharashtra State Police from 1979 to 2009. While the complainant was posted as Police Sub-Inspector at Chembur Police Station, he became acquainted with the accused-Petitioner, who was dealing