IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.52627 of 2021

Arising Out of PS. Case No.-80 Year-2019 Thana- INDUSTRIAL District- Bhagalpur

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Prabhu Kumar Jha Son Of Sri Harikrishan Jha Resident Of Village- Dhengari,

P.S.- Sikati, District- Araria.

... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

The State of Bihar

... ... Opposite Party/s

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Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s

:

Mr. Amit Kumar Anand, Adv.

For the State

:

Mr. Bharat Lal, APP

For the Informant

Mr. Ramakant Sharma, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Laxmikant Sharma, Adv.

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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANJANI KUMAR SHARAN

ORAL ORDER

2

09-05-2022

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, informant

and learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.

Learned counsel for the petitioner undertakes to

remove the defects within three weeks. In the eventuality of

non-removal of defects within undertaken period, the office will

place the matter before the Bench.

The petitioner is apprehending his arrest in a case

registered for the offence punishable under Sections 406, 409,

420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the prosecution case there are some

vendors/agents of the informant company who have filled up the

agency form and submitted their identity card and they are

engaged in the business with the organization. It is stated by the

informant that the agents named in the FIR are required to pay

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the bills of the company every month but the agents have not

paid the bills every month in a proper way as a result whereof

the outstanding amount of the organization has gone on

increasing.

It is alleged that on many occasions the officers of the

organization have given warning to the agents of company for

payment of the outstanding amount and they have been told that

in case of non-payment legal action will be taken but till date

the agents have not paid the outstanding amount and now they

are denying the payment. It is alleged, therefore, that is seems

the agents have misappropriated the money of the informant

with a bad intention and by cheating. This petitioner is one of

the named agents in the FIR.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that it

is evident from the FIR itself that the petitioner is allegedly an

agent engaged in business with the informant’s organization and

on account of business it is alleged that the petitioner was not

paying his monthly bills in a proper way. Learned counsel

submits that at first instance these are in the nature of

completely vague statements, a matter of accounting and a

purely civil dispute. According to him, the present FIR has been

lodged by giving a purely civil dispute a colour of criminal

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nature. It is his submission that at best it may be a case of

accounting dispute and if the petitioner is liable to pay any

amount which the petitioner has admittedly denied as per the

FIR itself, it is open for the informant’s organization to seek it’s

remedy in accordance with law but in no case it can be said to

be a case of criminal nature.

Learned APP for the State has though opposed the

prayer for anticipatory bail of the petitioner saying that as per

allegation this petitioner had to pay the monthly bills in a proper

way but he did not pay the same properly.

Having regard to the facts and circumstances of

this case and on going through the first information report

having noticed the submissions of learned counsel for the

petitioner and the allegation being that of non-payment of

outstanding dues which are said to have remained unpaid and

later on denied by the petitioner, and that the dispute is on

account of a business relationship, this court is inclined to grant

privilege of anticipatory