IMPORTANT POINT
Protection against vexatious and unwanted prosecution is a duty cast on High Courts.

JUDGMENT :

Ahsanuddin Amanullah, J.

Leave granted.

2. This appeal is directed against the Final Judgment and Order dated 02.08.2017 (hereinafter referred to as the “Impugned Judgment”) passed by the Lucknow Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (hereinafter referred to as the “High Court”) in Case U/S 482/378/407 Cr.P.C. No.4929 of 2017, by which the Order dated 02.06.2017 passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Lucknow rejecting the prayer for discharge of the appellants, who are husband and wife, respectively, has been upheld.

THE FACTUAL PRISM:

3. In brief, the allegations are that the Complainant/Respondent No.2 (hereinafter referred to as “R2”) was a tenant of a shop situated in the house of one Hari Narayan Shukla. On 29.06.2011, the appellants, along with others, locked the door of R2’s shop from inside, broke the wall and looted wheat (APL), sale money, about INR 21,000 worth of kerosene oil, goods in stock, all the registers of the shop, documents and a two-wheeler bearing Registration Number UP32BX2356 which led to R2 filing of the Hazratganj P.S. Case No.341 of 2011 dated 01.07.2011 (hereinafter referred to as the “FIR”) under Sections 448, 454 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as the “IPC”).

SUBMISSIONS BY THE APPELLANTS:

4. The learned counsel for the appellants submitted that FIR itself would show that the allegation(s) is/are frivolous in nature and levelled with a view only to frustrate the appellants from enjoying their property, as admittedly, Appellant No.2 (hereinafter referred to as “A2”) is the owner of the shop referred to supra, being the bona fide purchaser through a registered Sale Deed.

5. Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that R2, who claimed to be the tenant of the property in question, had on 31.05.2011 filed Regular Suit No.104/2011 for permanent injunction before the Civil Judge (Senior Division) South, Lucknow which was based on a so-called ‘Memorandum of Agreement of Tenancy’ dated 24.11.2005, in which the present symbol of the Indian National Rupee i.e., Rs., has been shown but the said symbol came into being only in the year 2010,¹[To be precise, the symbol was officially approved on 26.08.2010 vide F.No.03/17/10-Cy., Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs (Cy. Section).] and thus, could not have been reflected in a ‘Memorandum’ of the year 2005, which clearly exposes the falsity of the claim. Moreover, it was submitted that this would also amount to perjury by filing of a forged document before a Court of Law, for which the appellant(s) had filed an application under Section 340,²[340. Procedure in cases mentioned in Section 195.—(1) When, upon an application made to it in this behalf or otherwise, any Court is of opinion that it is expedient in the interests of justice that an inquiry should be made into any offence referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 195, which appears to have been committed in or in relation to a proceeding in that Court or, as the case may be, in respect of a document produced or given in evidence in a proceeding in that Court, such Court may, after such preliminary inquiry, if any, as it thinks necessary,—

(a) record a finding to that effect;

(b) make a complaint thereof in writing;

(c) send it to a Magistrate of the first class having jurisdiction;

(d) take sufficient security for the appearance of the accused before such Magistrate, or if the alleged offence is non-bailable and the Court thinks it necessary so to do, send the accused in custody to such Magistrate; and

(e) bind over any person to appear and give evidence before such Magistrate.

(2) The power conferred on a Court by sub-section (1) in respect of an offence may, in any case where that Court has neither made a complaint under sub-section (1) in respect of that offence nor rejected an application for the making of such complaint, be exercised by the Court to which such former Court is subordinate within the mean