Criminal proceedings under Sections 341, 504, and 506 of the IPC regarding wrongful restraint and intentional insult must be quashed if the complaint fails to satisfy the essential ingredients of physical obstruction or specific details of abusive language, constituting an abuse of the judicial process.

THIS WP IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO A. ALLOW THE WRIT PETITION, ISSUE WRIT IN THE NATURE OF CERTIORARI QUASHING THE CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IN C.C NO.28373/2023 PENDING ON THE FILE OF THE XLVI ADDITIONAL CHIEF METROPOLITAN MAGISTRATE, BENGALURU, VIDE ANNEXURE-A.

THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER:

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA

ORAL ORDER

Petitioners – accused Nos.1 to 3 are before this Court calling in question proceedings in C.C.No.28373/2023, pending before the XLVI Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Bengaluru, for the offences punishable under Sections 341, 504 and 506 r/w. 34 of the IPC.

2. Heard Sri Muralidhar H.M., learned counsel for petitioners, Smt. Sowmya R., learned High Court Government Pleader for respondent No.1 and Sri N. Udayakumar N., learned counsel for respondent No.2.

3. Facts in brief, germane, are as follows: The petitioners are said to be the office bearers of Sri Lakshminarayana Rao Education Society (for short ‘the Society’) and the complainant is the erstwhile Secretary of the said Society. The squabble between the two, with regard to certain fabrication, leads the petitioners to pass orders on 19.09.2022 and 02.05.2023, removing respondent No.2 – complainant from the post of Secretary and his primary membership. These orders of removal are challenged before the Registrar by respondent No.2 - complainant. It transpires that the said complaint was challenged before the Registrar of the Societies and the Registrar of Societies is said to have recalled the said orders in favour of the complainant. The petitioners preferred a writ petition before this Court in W.P.No.20266/2023 against the order passed by the Registrar of Societies. A co-ordinate bench has also passed an order that the complainant should not interfere with the affairs of the Society, on 11.09.2023.

4. The issue in the lis is not with regard to the merit of the matter. A complaint comes to be registered on 29.12.2023, by respondent No.2 against the petitioners alleging that the petitioners attempted to prevent respondent No.2 from entering into the office of the Society. This becomes a crime in Crime No.329/2023, for the offences under Sections 341, 504 and 506 r/w. 34 of the IPC. The police after investigation file a charge sheet in C.C.No.28373/2023, for the afore-quoted offences. This has driven the petitioners to this Court in the subject petition.

5. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners would submit that none of the ingredients of the offences so alleged i.e., Sections 341, 504 or 506 of the IPC is met in the case at hand. Permitting further proceedings would thus become an abuse of the process of the law. More so, in the light of the fact that the proceedings are pending before the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal and the order of the co-ordinate bench passed in W.P.No.20266/2023. He would seek quashment of the proceedings.

6. Learned counsel appearing for respondent No.2 - complainant would however refute the submissions to contend that the petitioners armed with the order of the Registrar of Co-operative Societies had sought to enter into his office but, he was not permitted to enter the office. Therefore, the ingredients of the offences are clearly met in the case at hand. Learned counsel submits that long before the order could be passed by the co-ordinate benc