ORDER

The petitioners being the accused in C.C. No.30046/2019 pending trial before the II Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Bengaluru, (henceforth referred to as ‘the Trial Court’) for the offence punishable under Section 506 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, ‘IPC’) have filed this petition challenging the proceedings initiated against them.

2. The respondent No.2 claims to be the owner of a residential flat at Gokulam apartments/Gokulam Complex, Doddakallasandra, Kanakapura Road, Bengaluru. It is stated that the said flat was rented out to tenants by him through Nestaway. He claimed that he was paying the monthly maintenance to the Gokulam Apartments Owners’ Association (for short, 'the Association') and that every year during May or June, he used to receive an intimation from the Association that he would get a discount of 10%, if he paid the monthly maintenance charges annually, upfront. He claimed that he was paying the monthly maintenance every year for the period from 01.06.2014 to 30.03.2017 and was enjoying the 10% discount offered by the Association. He claimed that in respect of the maintenance charges for the period from April 2017 to March 2018, he had paid the sum of Rs.46,899/- by a cheque bearing No.100046 on 30.03.2017. However, he received an email from the Association on 30.01.2018 stating that there was a due of Rs.239/- and the invoice disclosed that the discount of 10% was not applied towards the maintenance charges paid by the respondent No.2. However, when confronted, the respondent No.2 was advised to correspond with the petitioner No.2, who was then the President of the Association. Consequently, respondent No.2 wrote a letter to the President of the Association on 08.02.2018. Thereafter the respondent No.2 is stated to have made several visits to the Association and addressed several letters to get his grievances resolved. He claimed that the letters written by him were not replied by the Association but the invoices for the maintenance amount were sent to the respondent No.2. The respondent No.2 claimed that prior to the issues relating to maintenance, the Association was consulting him for legal help to recover Rs.20,00,000/- that was siphoned off by an office manager and certain office bearers of the Association and also to appear for them in various Courts if required and that the respondent No.2 had sent an invoice for the consultation fee to the petitioner No.2. Despite repeated reminders, petitioners had failed to pay him the consultation fee. The respondent No.2 alleged that the accused were sending emails to the other owners claiming that the respondent No.2 had defaulted in payment of maintenance charges. He alleged that the petitioner No.1 thereafter threatened the tenant in the apartment and were attempting to disconnect the electricity and when confronted, petitioner No.1 allegedly claimed that he was doing so on the instruction of petitioner No.2 to ensure that the tenant is vacated. He alleged that the Association was threatening to disconnect the electricity and water connection to the flat on the ground that the respondent No.2 had failed to pay maintenance charges of Rs.14,000/-. In addition, petitioner No.1 is stated to have threatened respondent No.2 not to demand his consultation fees and to withdraw the invoice issued by him. He further alleged that the petitioner No.1 had threatened that he along with petitioner No.2 who had sufficient political clout and the backing of police and rowdy elements with the backing of ISKCON and its management would make sure that the respondent No.2 is dispossessed of his property and that his life and limbs would be harmed.

3. Based on this information, the Police registered Crime No.3/2019 for the offences punishable under Sections 384, 406, 420, 120B, 506 read with Section 34 of IPC. The respondent No.1 took up investigation and after concluding the same, filed a charge sheet for the offence punishable unde