A court may quash an FIR when a co-accused is acquitted for lack of evidence under identical allegations.

ORAL ORDER

By instant petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Petitioner prayed to quash the FIR being Cr. No.I-33 of 2015 registered with Bahucharaji Police Station. Allegations made in FIR are as under.

The allegations in the FIR is leveled against the Directors of the Bliss Life Care Pvt. Ltd. that they have not paid an amount of Rs.30,000/- which was to be paid by the Bliss Life Care Pvt. Ltd. pursuant to the agreement dated 13.02.2015 whereby Rs.4,25,000/- was deposited by the complainant for getting the franchise of Bliss Life Care Pvt. Ltd. and to sell the various medicines. Since, according to complainant, petitioner failed to abide by the promise given to him and the questioned FIR was filed.

The order dated 31.08.2015 reads as under:

“For the offence alleged to have been committed on 31st January, 2015, the first information report came to be registered on 19th June, 2015. Prima facie, it appears from the materials on record that the applicants herein had resigned from the company long time back.

Let notice be issued to the respondents, returnable on 7.10.2015. Mr. Pandya, the learned APP, waives service of notice for and on behalf of the respondent No.1. The respondent No.2 be served directly through the investigating officer of the concerned police station.

Let there be an ad-interim order in terms of para- 5(C) qua the applicants. The investigation shall proceed further in accordance with law against the other co-accused.”

The interim relief was granted in terms of para-5(C) however investigation was permitted to proceed against other accused namely Mr. Ketan Haribhai Mohanbhai.

Investigating Officer has completed the investigation against Mr. Ketan Haribhai Mohanbhai and filed the Charge sheet before the Learned Additional Magistrate First Class, Bahucharaji. It was registered as a Criminal Case No.133 of 2016. After framing the charge for the offence punishable under Sections 406 and 420 of Indian Penal Code against the accused Mr. Ketan Haribhai Mohanbhai who is one of the directors of Bliss Life Care Pvt. Ltd., the learned trial Court permitted the prosecution to lead the evidence. Complainant entered into witness box at Exh. 29 which could be discernible from the Judgment/Order passed in the Criminal Case No.133 of 2016 placed by the learned advocate Mr. M. A. Kharadi in the matter. The complainant deposed that later on as he received the amount which was overdue. Learned trail Court assessed and evaluated the evidence in a criminal case and found that essential evidence of offence under Sections 406 and 420 of Indian Penal Code are failed to be proved, consequently, acquitted the accused by Judgment/Order dated 21.08.2023.

Learned advocate Mr. M. A. Kharadi submits that the role of the present petitioner is on the same footing. They are also directors of the Bliss Life Care Pvt. Ltd. No separate role is assigned to the petitioner and therefore what evidence available against the director-Mr. Ketan Haribhai Mohanbhai could also be available against the present petitioner and since the evaluation of evidence against Director-Mr. Ketan Haribhai Mohanbhai did not found fathom, the learned trial Court has acquitted Director-Mr. Ketan Haribhai Mohanbhai. The same analogy may be applied to the present petitioner and the FIR against them may be quashed.

Learned APP Mr. Tirthraj Pandya in his utter fairness submitted that the order passed in the Criminal Case No.133 of 2016 to his knowledge has not been challenged before the higher forum. Therefore he submitted to pass necessary order.

Perusing the facts and considering the aspects that the Director-Ketan Haribhai Mohanbhai who has faced the trial on the identical allegations has been acquitted by the learned trial Court by the Judgment and Order dated 21.08.2023, the same evidence would be applied to the present petitioner and sending them to face the trial is therefore an absurd process.

Resultantly, the present petition is allowed. The FIR being CR. No