* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

% Reserved on: 02^nd September, 2025

Pronounced on: 17th December, 2025

+ CRL.M.C. 452/2021, CRL.M.A. 2390/2021

1. M/S DB SHAPRIYA CONSTRUCTION LTD.

Through its Director, Sh. Kishore Dhanji Shapriya

Having its Registered Office at

A-301, Titanium Square,

Nr. Thaltej Cross Road, S.G. Road,

Ahmedabad- 380054,

Gujarat

2. SH. KISHORE DHANJI SHAPRIYA

Director, DB Shapriya Construction Ltd.

R/o A-301, Titanium Square,

Nr. Thaltej Cross Road, S.G. Road,

Ahmedabad- 380054,

Gujarat

3. SH. AMISH KISHORE SHAPRIYA

Director, DB Shapriya Construction Ltd.

R/o A-301, Titanium Square,

Nr. Thaltej Cross Road, S.G. Road,

Ahmedabad- 380054,

Gujarat .....Petitioners

Through: Mr. Sunil J Mathews, Ms. Jyoti Chib,

Ms. P.R. Mala, Advocates.

versus

A2Z INFRA ENGINEERING LTD.

(Formerly A2Z Maintenance & Engineering Services Ltd.),

Having its Regd. Office at

O-116, First Floor, Shopping Mall,

Arjun Marg, DLF City, Phase-1,

Gurgaon-122001 (Haryana) .....Respondent

Through: Mr. Atul Kumar and Mr. Abhimanyu Sharma Advocates.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA

J U D G M E N T

NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA, J.

1. The Petition has been filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.) read with Article 227 of the Constitution of India, for the quashing of Complaint Case No. 13330 of 2018 under Section 138 read with Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (NI Act), along with the impugned Orders dated 03.06.2020 and 17.12.2020, summoning the Petitioners therein.

2. Briefly stated, the Petitioner No. 1/M/S DB Shapriya is an Engineering, Procurement and Construction Public Limited Company engaged in the field of construction of oil & gas facilities and pipelines, road & building construction, and electrical distribution work. Petitioner No. 2/Sh. Kishore Dhanji Shapriya is an Indian-origin law-abiding citizen of the Republic of Tanzania. Petitioner No. 3/ Sh. Amish Kishore Shapriya is his son.

3. The Petitioners and the Respondent had been engaged in various Contracts wherein the Respondent was the Turnkey Contractor and Petitioner No. 1/DB Shapriya, the EPC Contractor.

4. The Respondent had been awarded a Contract by the Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) on 30.03.2012 for the reconstruction and modernization of the distribution system in Ara and Buxar. Petitioner No. 1/Company, represented by Mr. Dhiren P. Bhandari and the Respondent, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 20.12.2012 for this Ara-Buxar Project, on back-to-back basis.

5. As per clause 3(b)(ii) of the aforesaid MOU, Petitioner No. 1 furnished an undated Cheque no. 593756 signed by Mr. Dhrien P. Bhandari, in the sum of Rs. 2,29,52,944 equivalent to 5% of the total contract value, as Performance Guarantee on behalf of Petitioner No. 1.

6. Simultaneously, the Petitioners and the Respondent were engaged in a Project in Kanpur, regarding which a Deed of Corporate Guarantee was executed by the Respondent, in favor of Petitioner No. 1 on 31.12.2012 for an amount of Rs. 18,01,83,036/-. The Petitioners claim they completed the Kanpur Project and were entitled to outstanding dues of Rs. 8,30,17,084/-. On 18.03.2014, the Respondent issued a letter confirming this balance was payable to Petitioner No. 1, for which the Respondent issued a cheque on 01.02.2014. It is alleged that Mr. Dhiren P. Bhandari, the then Director of Petitioner No. 1, acting in connivance with the Respondent, deliberately withheld the encashment of this cheque, leading to the termination of his service on 31.03.2015 due to alleged fraudulent acts and misappropriation of funds.

7. Relations between the parties deteriorated when Petitioner No. 2 sent follow-up emails on 30.03.2018 and 09.04.2018, demanding the release of the outstanding dues relating to the Kanpur Project. In response, on 09.04.2018, the Respondent denied the existence of any legal liability or outstanding dues and threatened adverse legal action if the Petitioners persisted with their claims.

8. After completing all