ORDER

Respondent No. 2 lodged a first information report (FIR) on

17.07.2017 with Respondent No. 1, alleging offenses punishable under Sections 34, 120B, 379, 384, 417, 418, 420, 426, 500, 504, and 506 of the IPC. The summary of the allegations in the FIR is as follows:

2. Due to a failed marriage and in order to gain custody of his minor daughter, Respondent No.2 enrolled as an Advocate in August 2014 and interned and practiced with a Senior Advocate named Sri CHH. He first saw Respondent No.2 with a grieving face and moist eyes whilst coming out of the Senior's cabin. His heart skipped a beat as he looked upon her as a South Indian princess, bemused and allured by her in October 2013. They regularly communicated between October 2013 and April 2014 and had first met at Gopalan Mall.

3. Respondent No. 2 visited accused Nos.1 to 3 at a nursing home on an invitation to see the newborn baby girl of the accused No.3 and gifted them an exquisite Johnson and Johnson baby product. He treated accused No. 2 to a sumptuous breakfast at an AAB restaurant, and en route home, accused No. 2 insisted and performed her first physical activity on him.

4. Until April 2017, he spent several man-hours assisting accused Nos.1 to 3 and pursued cases on behalf of accused No.3 in various litigations arising from matrimonial disputes. Accused No.2 joined his Senior’s office under the guise of an internship for two to three months in 2015, during which she engaged in various physical activities in the office. In November 2016, he took accused No.2 to Vikram Hospital, provided exemplary care, treated her to delightful food, and dropped her back home. He attended to the medical needs of the minor son of accused No.2 and also took accused No. 2 to Apollo Hospital for treatment.

5. Between April 2017 and June 2017, accused No.2 made false promises regarding friendship, love, and marriage. Respondent No.2 treated her to exquisite food on more than 26 occasions, resulting in a financial loss of Rs.54,000/-. He also treated her to numerous movies, incurring an additional loss of Rs.21,000/-. Due to her false promises, he gifted her lingerie, kurtas, watches, etc., resulting in a further loss of Rs.30,000/-. He spent over Rs.50,000/- on travel and was defrauded into purchasing law books worth Rs.5,000/-. He took accused No.2 and her children to various events, incurring a loss of Rs.14,000/-, and advanced her a cash loan of Rs.14,500/-.

6. Respondent No. 2 questioned accused No. 2 about her illicit liaisons with various men, ranging from a driver to a lawyer. Accused No.2 repeatedly lied and was unapologetic about her behavior but agreed to reimburse all the money he had spent on her till 19 June 2017. However, she defaulted on her promises, repeatedly cheated, dodged the agreed deadlines, absconded, cut off communication with the intent to defraud, and threatened him via SMS. On 27.06.2017, she gave him an envelope with a balance amount of Rs.92,000/- and argued about various issues, especially her rejoinder to her letter of apology. She refused to fulfill her promises and return his books. She defamed him before his ex-

Senior and used him against him.

7. Therefore, the petitioners are accused of being prima facie guilty of criminal conspiracy with common intent, theft of Rs.92,000/-, extortion, cheating, criminal intimidation, and breach of peace. The police registered the FIR for offenses punishable under Sections 34, 384, and 420 of the IPC.

8. After investigation, the police submitted a 'B' report.

Respondent No.2 filed a protest petition, and the learned Magistrate, after rejecting the 'B' report, directed further investigation. The present petition is filed against this directive.

9. Sri Sandesh J Chouta, the learned Senior Counsel representing the petitioners, argued that the allegations against the petitioners arise from a strained relationship between petitioner- accused No.2 and respondent No.2. He contended that these allegations are being given a criminal