ORAL ORDER

Rule. Learned APP waives service of notice for and on behalf of the respondent – State. Learned advocate Mr. Manish S. Shah appearing for the respondent No.02 waives service of notice for the respondent No.02.

1. By filing the present petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India read with Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The petitioner has prayed for the following relief.

“A. YOUR LORSHIP may be pleased to admit and allow this Application.

B. YOUR LORDSHIPS may be pleased to issue appropriate writ in the nature of Mandamus, Certiorari, order, direction and/or any other appropriate writ to quash and set aside the FIR Being - I CR NO. 11191001240068 OF 2024 Anandnagar Police registered at Station, Ahmedabad (Rural) on 02.04.2024 for the alleged offences punishable U/S 406,420 and 114 OF I.P.C, incidental or further proceedings arising out of the same i.e. Chargesheet and the Criminal Case No. 28255 of 2024 Pending before the 2nd Addl. Civil Judge and JMFC, Ahmedabad (Rural)

C. Pending admission, hearing and final disposal of this Petition, YOUR LORDSHIPS may be pleased to stay further proceedings of FIR Being - I CR NO. 11191001240068 OF 2024 registered at Anandnagar Police Station, Ahmedabad (Rural) on 02.04.2024 for the alleged offences punishable U/S 406,420 and 114 OF I.P.C as well as incidental or further proceedings arising out of the same i.e. Chargesheet and the Criminal Case No. 28255 of 2024 Pending before the 2nd Addl. Civil Judge and JMFC, Ahmedabad (Rural)

D. YOUR LORDSHIPS may be pleased to grant any other and further reliefs as may be deemed fit and proper in the interest of justice.”

2. The facts and circumstances giving rise to the filing of the present petition are such that the company of the petitioner and the company of the first informant were having business transactions with each other. The first informant had sold certain goods to the company of the petitioner. Initially, the payment of the amount of 1,76,985 US dollars was made by the company of the petitioner to the first informant for the said purchases. However, the amount of 4,84,096.40 US dollars was not paid by the company of the petitioner to the first informant despite repeated reminders. The respondents herein therefore lodged the FIR in question against the petitioner and the other co-accused at Anandnagar Police Station, Ahmedabad. The investigating agency, after conclusion of investigation, filed charge-sheet against the petitioner and the other co-accused for the offences punishable under Section 406, 420 of the Indian Penal Code. Being aggrieved by the same, the petitioner has filed the present petition.

3. Heard learned Advocate Shri. Kishan N. Brahmbhatt appearing for the petitioner. He submitted that the petitioner herein was the director of the company named Agrovet Market Limited. However, he had resigned from the post of director of the company in question in the year 2022 i.e. prior to registration of the present FIR. He submitted that as per the FIR itself, the incident alleged in the FIR had taken place between January 2019 to January 2020 for which the FIR came to be lodged in the year 2024 i.e. after a period of more than 4 years. The delay caused in lodging the FIR has not at all been explained by the first informant. Moreover, the dispute involved in the present offence arises out of business transactions between the company of the petitioner and the first informant, which is absolutely of a civil nature. He further submitted that there was an agreement entered into between the parties with regard to the business transactions between them and as per the said agreement, the disputes arising between the parties out of the business transactions were required to be resolved by taking recourse to arbitration proceedings and the said agreement very well contained an arbitration clause. However, the respondent herein, instead of taking recourse to the arbitration proceedings, has lod