Legally Bharat

Bombay High Court

Pratik S/O Kanhaiyalal Bansal And … vs The State Of Mha. Thr. Pso Shegaon … on 16 January, 2025

2025:BHC-NAG:541


              Judgment

                                                               341 apl1687.22

                                           1

                   IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT
                     BOMBAY, NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR

                   CRIMINAL APPLICATION (APL) NO.1687 OF 2022

              1. Shri Pratik s/o Kanhaiyalal Bansal,
              aged about 40 years, occupation: service,
              ICICI Lombard, r/o 101, Diamond
              Trade Centre, Dr.R.S.Bhandari Marg,
              Indore (Madhya Pradesh).

              2. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co.
              Ltd., having registered office at Zenith
              House, Keshaorao Khade Marg,
              Mahalaxmi, Mumbai.
              authorized officer.                   ..... Applicants.
                                    :: V E R S U S ::
              1. The State of Maharashtra,
              through its Police Station
              Officer, Shegaon, district:
              Buldhana.

              2. Shri Gajanan Cotspin, a
              partnership firm through its
              Partner-Devendra Madhusudan
              Bhattad, aged about major, occupation:
              business, r/o Shegaon, taluka
              Shegaon, district: Buldhana. ..... Non-applicants.
              ==============================
              Ms.Ashwini Athalye, Counsel for Applicants.
              Shri C.A.Lokhande, Additional Public Prosecutor for Non-
              applicant No.1/State.
              Shri S.N.Bhattad, Counsel for Non-applicant No2.
              ==============================

                                                                      .....2/-
 Judgment

                                                    341 apl1687.22

                                2



CORAM : URMILA JOSHI-PHALKE, J.
CLOSED ON : 08/01/2025
PRONOUNCED ON : 16/01/2025

JUDGMENT

1. This application is filed by applicants under

Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for

quashing of criminal proceeding of Regular Criminal Case

No.101/2009 pending before learned Judicial Magistrate

First Class, Shegaon, district Buldhana.

2. Brief facts necessary for disposal of the

application are as under:

Non-applicant No.2 (the complainant) filed a

complaint under Sections 420 and 468 of the Indian Penal

Code contending that applicant No.1 is authorized

signatory of applicant No.2 – ICICI Lombard General

Insurance Company Limited which deals in General

Insurance Business. The complainant had insured its stock

…..3/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

3

worth of Rs.50.00 lacs of Raw Cotton, Cotton Lint, F.P.

Bells, and Cotton Seeds stored and kept in open godown in

the complainant’s factory at Shegaon and had paid

insurance premium of Rs.23142/- vide cheque No.132955

dated 21.4.2005. On receipt of the cheque,

acknowledgement dated 21.4.2005 was issued by

applicant No.1. It was informed to the complainant that

the policy would be issued in due course. It was further

communicated that the liability of the company would be

subject to the realization of the cheque. It was further

communicated that if the amount is less than premium

quoted or revised as per changes in the sum proposed for

insurance or covered desired risk by proposal. It was

agreed that the proposal shall be accepted for

consideration for reducing the sum appropriated premium

and the policy shall be finalized. Accordingly, premium

was accepted and an acknowledgement was issued on

…..4/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

4

24.4.2005. As per the contention of the complainant, the

communication issued shows policy document would be

issued having accepted the premium. Thus, the contract

of insurance is completed. The ICICI Lombard Office

informed the complainant that he had taken the Special

and Fire Perils Policy of Rs.50.00 lacs for which the

premium was paid. Though the cheque was put for

clearance on 22.4.2005, the policy was not issued. On

23.4.2005, at about 12 O’clock noon, the fire broke out in

the godown and after due efforts, it could not be

controlled and the damage was caused to the stock,

building, and cotton bells etc. The surveyor of applicant

No.1-company visited the spot and assessed the damage.

Authorized signatory of applicant No.2 had also visited the

spot on 25.4.2005 along with one Gaurav Arora and

continuously they have visited from 25.4.2005 to

28.4.2005. The complainant filed a claim for damage

…..5/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

5

sustained on account of the fire, but with dishonest

intention a cheque issued towards premium was sent to

the complainant on 18.5.2005. The applicant No.2-

company also issued anti-dated letter mentioning date

25.4.2005 by courier which was received by the

complainant on 12.5.2005. It was dishonestly informed

that risk for the amount of Rs.50.00 lacs is not covered.

The complainant has not accepted the cheque and sent

back with notice dated 11.6.2005. As per the contention

of the complainant, authorized officer of the applicant

No.2 was personally present on the spot on 25.4.2005 and

with an intention to defraud the complainant, a false

document dated 25.4.2005 was prepared.

3. With these contentions, the complainant filed a

complaint in the court of learned JMFC, Shegaon. Learned

Magistrate took the cognizance and issued process by

passing order on 9.11.2009. The applicants put their

…..6/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

6

appearance and filed the discharge application which came

to be rejected on 2.11.2015. Against the said order, the

applicants have filed a revision bearing Criminal Revision

No.70/2015 and the same was dismissed by order dated

11.7.2022.

4. By this application, the applicants are seeking

quashing of the proceedings as well as the discharge.

5. Learned counsel Ms.Ashwini Athalye for

applicants submitted that as far as factual aspect, that the

applicant No.1 is the authorized signatory of the applicant

No.2- company which deals in General Insurance Business,

is not disputed. It is also not disputed that there was a

proposal from the complainant for insuring his stock

worth of Rs.50.00 lacs and cheque of premium of

Rs.23142/- vide cheque No.132955 dated 21.4.2005 was

issued. It is also not disputed that the acknowledgement

as to the receipt of cheque was issued by the applicant

…..7/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

7

No.1. However, the contention of the complainant, that

the applicant No.2 informed the complainant that he had

taken Special and Fire Perils Policy of Rs.50.00 lacs for

which the premium was paid, is not admitted. It is also

not admitted that the authorized officer of the applicant

No.2 has visited the spot and was present at Shegaon from

25.4.2005 to 28.4.2005. It is also denied that with a

dishonest intention a cheque issued towards premium was

sent to the complainant and the policy was cancelled. She

submitted that in fact, there was no concluded contract

between the present applicants and the complainant.

Mere retention of the cheque towards premium is not

sufficient to show that it was a concluded contract. She

submitted that at the most the case of the complainant

would be a breach of the contract. As far as ingredients of

Sections 420 and 406 of the Indian Penal Code are

concerned, the same are not made out. A breach of

…..8/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

8

contract does not give rise to criminal prosecution for

cheating unless fraudulent or dishonest intention is shown

right at the beginning of the transaction. Merely on the

allegation of failure to keep up promise will not be enough

to initiate criminal proceedings. The applicants have

already filed Special Civil Suit No.29/2009 for damages

and compensation. The said suit was dismissed. Against

the said suit, first appeal was filed and the same was

allowed and the second appeal is pending before this

court. As far as dishonest intention is concerned, nothing

is on record to show that there was any dishonest

intention on the part of the present applicants.

6. In support of her contentions, learned counsel for

applicants placed reliance on following decisions:

1. Birla Corporation Limited vs. Adventz
Investments and Holdings Limited and ors,
reported in (2019) 16 SCC 610;

…..9/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

9

2. Anil Mahajan vs. Bhor Industries and anr,
reported in (2005)10 SCC 228;

3. Samir Sahay alias Sameer Sahay vs. State of
Uttar Pradesh and anr, reported in (2018)14
SCC 223;

4. Sarabjit Kaur vs. State of Punjab and anr,
reported in (2023)5 SCC 360, and

5. Oriental Fire and General Insurance Co. vs.
Panvel Industries Cooperative, reported in
1992 ACJ 503.

7. Per contra, learned Additional Public Prosecutor

Shri C.A.Lokhande for the State supported the order

passed by learned Magistrate, Shegaon as well as learned

Additional Sessions Judge, Khamgaon.

8. Learned Counsel Shri S.N.Bhattad for the

complainant submitted that the applicants had taken two

stands that at one breath they are saying there was no

policy and on the second breath they are saying that there

was no concluded contract. In fact, the documents on

…..10/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

10

record show that premium was accepted. The

communication dated 21.4.2005 sufficiently shows that

cheque of premium was accepted. The communication

further shows that it was informed that if the amount is

less than premium quoted or revised as per changes in the

sum proposed for insurance or covered desired risk by

proposal, it was agreed that the proposal shall be accepted

for consideration for reducing the sum appropriated

premium and the policy shall be finalized accordingly. The

claim of the applicants is not maintainable as in a first

appeal decree passed by learned Civil Judge Senior

Division is reversed by RCA No.56/2015. There is prima

facie no merits in the contentions of the applicants and,

therefore, the application deserves to be rejected.

9. After hearing both the sides, it reveals that the

contention of the complainant that applicant No.1 is the

authorized signatory and applicant No.2 is General

…..11/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

11

Insurance Company is not disputed. It is also not disputed

that the applicant No.2 had proposed to insure its stock

worth of Rs.50.00 lacs of Raw Cotton, Cotton Lint, F.P.

Bells, and Cotton Seeds with the applicant No.2 and also

issued cheque bearing No.132955 dated 21.4.2005

towards the premium. Applicant No.2 has also issued

acknowledgement signed by applicant No.1 on 21.4.2005.

Admittedly, no insurance policy was issued. Though the

cheque was put for clearance on 22.4.2005, the policy was

not issued. As far as unfortunate incident dated 23.4.2005

is concerned, the same is also not disputed. It is also not

disputed that the cheque of premium was sent to the

complainant on 18.5.2005, but the complainant has not

accepted the cheque and sent back with notice dated

11.6.2005. The contention of the complainant that the

authorized signatory of the applicant No.2 visited the spot

from 25.4.2005 to 28.4.2005 is denied by the applicants.

…..12/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

12

10. Before adverting to the issue, it has to be seen

whether there was a concluded contract between the

applicants and the complainant.

11. The normal principle regarding conclusion of the

contract is laid down under Section 7 of the Indian

Contract Act, which reads thus:

“7. Acceptance must be absolute.– In order to
convert a proposal into a promise the
acceptance must –

(1) be absolute and unqualified;

(2) be expressed in some usual and reasonable
manner, unless the proposal prescribes the
manner in which it is to be accepted. If the
proposal prescribes a manner in which it is to
be accepted, and the acceptance is not made in
such manner, the proposer may, within a
reasonable time after the acceptance is
communicated to him, insist that his proposal
shall be accepted in the prescribed manner,
and not otherwise; but, if he fails to do so, he
accepts the acceptance.”

…..13/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

13

12. A contract of insurance, like any other contract, is

created where there has been an unqualified acceptance by

one party of an offer made by the other. So long as the

matter is still under negotiation there is no contract,

although it is open to the parties, pending conclusion of

the negotiations, to enter into an interim contract of a

limited nature, for example in the form of a cover-note. If

the contract is created otherwise than by acceptance of a

written proposal it must be shown that there has been

agreement on the fundamentals of the insurance proposed,

namely, the subject-matter of the insurance, the amount of

the insurance unless this is unlimited, the nature of the

risks insured against, the period for which the insurance is

to last and the rate of premium to be charged, although

the exact amount may have to be calculated. The Hon’ble

Apex Court in the case of Life Insurance Corporation of

India vs. Raja Vasireddy Komalavalli Kamba and ors,

…..14/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

14

reported in AIR 1984 SC 1014 dealt with this issue and it

is held that the contract of insurance will be concluded

only when the party to whom an offer has been made

accepts it unconditionally and communicates his

acceptance to the person making the offer. Though in

certain human relationships silence to a proposal might

convey acceptance but in the case of insurance proposal

silence does not denote consent and no binding contract

arises until the person to whom an offer is made says or

does something to signify his acceptance. Mere delay in

giving an answer cannot be construed as an acceptance,

as, prima facie, acceptance must be communicated to the

offeror. Similarly, The mere receipt and retention of

premium until after the death of the applicant or the mere

preparation of the policy document is not acceptance.

While dealing with the situation, it is further observed in

paragraph No.13, which is reproduced as under:

…..15/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

15

When an insurance policy becomes effective is
well-settled by the authorities but before we
note the said authorities, it may be stated that
it is clear that the expression “underwrite”

signifies accept liability under’. The dictionary
meaning also indicates that. (See in this
connection The Concise oxford Dictionary Sixth
Edition p. 1267.) It is true that normally the
expression “underwrite” is used in Marine
insurance but the expression used in Chapter
III of the Financial powers of the Standing
order in this case specifically used the
expression “underwriting and revivals” of
policies in case of Life Insurance Corporation
and stated that it was the Divisional Manager
who was competent to underwrite policy for Rs
50,000 and above. The mere receipt and
retention of premium until after the death of
the applicant or the mere preparation of the
policy document is not acceptance. Acceptance
must be signified by some act or acts agreed on
by the parties or from which the law raises a
presumption of acceptance. See in this

…..16/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

16

connection the statement of law in Corpus Juris
Secundum, Vol. XLV page 986 wherein it has
been stated as:-

“The mere receipt and retention of
premiums until after the death of
applicant does not give rise to a contract,
although the circumstances may be such
that approval could be inferred from
retention of the premium. The mere
execution of the policy is not an
acceptance; an acceptance, to be
complete, must be communicated to the
offeror, either directly, or by some definite
act, such as placing the contract in the
mail. The test is not intention alone.
When the application so requires, the
acceptance must be evidenced by the
signature of one of the company’s
executive officers.”

…..17/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

17

13. Thus, mere retention of the amount of premium

will not mean acceptance of the contract of insurance.

Some more actions are required on the part of the insurer

to indicate that there was acceptance of the contract of

insurance.

14. In the present case, only cheque towards the

premium was accepted, but the cheque was not cleared

and the amount was not received by the insurance

company towards the premium and insurance certificates

were also not issued. The general rule is that the contract

of insurance will be concluded only when the party to

whom an offer has been made accepts it unconditionally

and communicates his acceptance to the person making

the offer. Whether the final acceptance is that of the

assured or insurers, however, depends simply on the way

in which negotiations for an insurance have progressed.

…..18/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

18

15. Thus, it means that it is not necessary that in

every contract of insurance, the proposal has to come from

assurer and the insurer has to accept it unconditionally to

convert it into a contract.

16. The similar view is expressed by this court in the

case of Oriental Fire and General Insurance Co. vs. Panvel

Industries Cooperative supra that mere payment of

premium amount and its acceptance by agent cannot

amount to a concluded contract of insurance. In order to

convert a proposal into a promise the acceptance must be

(1) be absolute and unqualified, and (2) be expressed in

some usual and reasonable manner, unless the proposal

prescribes the manner in which it is to be accepted. If the

proposal prescribes a manner in which it is to be accepted,

and the acceptance is not made in such manner, the

proposer may, within a reasonable time after the

acceptance is communicated to him, insist that his

…..19/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

19

proposal shall be accepted in the prescribed manner, and

not otherwise; but, if he fails to do so, he accepts the

acceptance.

17. Thus, it is a consistent view that mere receipt and

retention of premium even for a long time is not

acceptance and cannot give rise to a contract.

18. By applying the same principle, if facts of the

present case are considered, it is the allegation that though

the cheque was put for clearance on 22.4.2005, the policy

was not issued. Admittedly, there is no document on

record to show that it was at any time communicated by

the applicants to the complainant that his proposal was

accepted and premium of Rs.23142/- was accepted against

the said policy. On the contrary, communication dated

25.4.2005 shows that cheque was returned and the

company shown its inability to cover risk for the amount of

sum insured of Rs.50.00 ab initio.

…..20/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

20

19. The contents of the complaint show that with a

dishonest intention, the anti-dated letter was prepared and

the cheque was returned. The contents of the complaint

do not describe as to how at the inception the element of

cheating was existed.

20. Here, the main offence alleged by the complaint is

that the applicants committed the offence under Sections

420 and 468 of the Indian Penal Code and the case of the

complainant is that the applicants cheated him.

21. To deceive is, to induce a man to believe that a

thing is true which is false, and which the person

practising the deceit knows or believes to be false. It must

also be shown that there exists a fraudulent or dishonest

intention at the time of commission of the offence. As far

as present complaint is concerned, there is no allegation

that the applicants made any willful representation to the

complainant.

…..21/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

21

22. It has to be seen, whether the contents of the

complaint are sufficient to show that since inception there

was intention and with that intention the cheque was

accepted towards the premium and subsequently liability

to issue insurance policy and to cover the risk are denied.

23. It is well settled that summoning of accused in

criminal case is a serious matter. The criminal law cannot

be set into motion as a matter of course. It is not that the

complainant has to bring only two witnesses to support his

allegations in the complaint to have criminal law set into

motion, but the nature of the allegations made in the

complaint and the material either in the nature of formal

statement of documents are to be produced to establish

the charge against the accused. Whether mere breach of

promise would constitute an offence?

24. The Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Anil

Mahajan vs. Bhor Industries and anr supra distinguished

…..22/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

22

breach of contract and cheating and held that mere use of

expression “cheating” in the complaint is of no

consequence.

25. A breach of contract does not give rise to criminal

prosecution for cheating unless fraudulent or dishonest

intention is shown right at the beginning of the

transaction. Merely on the allegation of failure to keep up

promise will not be enough to initiate criminal

proceedings. From the facts available on record, it is

evident that the complainant had proposed to ensure his

stock worth of Rs.50.00 lacs and issued the cheque of

Rs.23142/- towards premium. The said cheque was

accepted and acknowledgement was issued. As far as the

intention of the applicants since inception is concerned,

except the bare words of the complainant that he was

cheated, nothing is on record to show that since inception

there was an intention to cheat the complainant. It is a

…..23/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

23

general principle of criminal law that a crime is not

committed unless a person committing it has mens rea.

The maxim ‘actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea ‘, it

means that the intention and act must both to constitute

the crime. For commission of every offence the requisite

thing is mens rea unless the statute expressly excludes it.

So far as the offence of cheating is concerned it does

require the mens rea to deceive.

26. According to Section 415 of the Indian Penal

Code, the inducement must be fraudulent and dishonest

which depends upon the intention of the accused at the

time of inducement.

27. The Hon’ble Apex Court considered Sections 415

and 420 of the Indian Penal Code in the case of Hridaya

Rangan Pd. Verma and ors vs. State of Bihar and anr,

reported in (2000)4 SCC 168 and observe in paragraph

Nos.14 and 15 as under:

…..24/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

24

“14. On a reading of the section it is manifest
that in the definition there are set forth two
separate classes of acts which the person
deceived may be induced to do. in the first
place he may be induced fraudulently or
dishonestly to deliver any property to any
person. The second class of acts set forth in
the section is the doing or omitting to do
anything which the person deceived would not
do or omit to do if he were not so deceived. In
the first class of cases the inducing must be
fraudulent or dishonest. In the second class of
acts, the inducing must be intentional but not
fraudulent or dishonest.

15. In determining the question it has to be
kept in mind that the distinction between
mere breach of contract and the offence of
cheating is a fine one. It depends upon the
intention of the accused at the time to
inducement which may be judged by his
subsequent conduct but for this subsequent
conduct is not the sole test. Mere breach of

…..25/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

25

contract cannot give rise to criminal
prosecution for cheating unless fraudulent or
dishonest intention is shown right at the
beginning of the transaction, that is the time
when the offence is said to have been
committed. Therefore it is the intention which
is the gist of the offence. To hold a person
guilty of cheating it is necessary to show that
he had fraudulent or dishonest intention at the
time of making the promise. From his mere
failure to keep up promise subsequently such a
culpable intention right at the beginning, that
is, when he made the promise cannot be
presumed.”

28. Thus, the question which I posed myself is,

whether any act of inducement on the part of applicants

has been raised by the complainant and whether the

applicants had an intention to cheat him from very

inception. If the facts of the case are considered, at the

most, it would be a civil dispute resulting from a breach of

…..26/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

26

contract on the part of applicants by non issuing the

insurance policy after accepting the cheque and returning

the same to the complainant.

29. In order to constitute an offence of cheating, the

intention to deceive should be in existence at the time

when the inducement was made. It is necessary to show

that a person had fraudulent or dishonest intention at the

time of making the promise, to say that he committed an

act of cheating. A mere failure to keep up promise

subsequenlty cannot be presumed as an act leading to

cheating.

30. The applicants filed an application under Section

482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as their discharge

application has been rejected and prayed for quashing of

the proceeding.

…..27/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

27

31. It is a settled principle of law at the stage of

considering an application for discharge the court must

proceed on the assumption that the material which has

been brought on the record by the prosecution is true and

evaluate the material in order to determine whether the

facts emerging from the material, taken on its face value,

disclose the existence of the ingredients necessary to

constitute the offence.

32. What needs to be considered is, whether there is a

ground that the offence has been committed or not and

whether a ground for convicting the accused has been

made out.

33. In the case of Union of India vs. Prafulla Kumar

Samal and anr, reported in (1973)3 SCC 4, the Hon’ble

Apex Court considered the scope of Section 227 of the

Code of Criminal Procedure. After adverting to the various

…..28/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

28

decisions, the Hon’ble Apex Court has enumerated the

following principles:

“(1) That the Judge while considering the question

of framing the charges under section 227 of the

Code has the undoubted power to sift and weigh

the evidence for the limited purpose of finding out

whether or not a prima facie case against the

accused has been made out.

(2) Where the materials placed before the Court

disclose grave suspicion against the accused which

has not been properly explained the Court will be,

fully justified in framing a charge and proceeding

with the trial.

(3) The test to determine a prima facie case would

naturally depend upon the facts of each case and it

is difficult to lay down a rule of universal

…..29/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

29

application. By and large however if two views are

equally possible and the Judge is satisfied that the

evidence produced before him while giving rise to

some suspicion but not grave suspicion against the

accused, he will be fully within his right to

discharge the accused.

(4) That in exercising his jurisdiction under section

227 of the Code the Judge which under the present

Code is a senior and experienced Judge cannot act

merely as a Post office or a mouth-piece of the

prosecution, but has to consider the broad

probabilities of the case, the total effect of the

evidence and the documents produced before the

Court, any basic infirmities appearing in the case

and so on. This however does not mean that the

Judge should make a roving enquiry into the pros

…..30/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

30

and cons of the matter and weigh the evidence as if

he was conducting a trial.”

34. In the light of the well settled principles as to the

consideration of discharge application as well as inherent

jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal

Procedure, the facts of the case and recital of the

complaint nowhere disclose that since inception there was

an intention and with that intention cheque of premium

was accepted and subsequently the policy was denied.

The contentions of the complainant do not describe as to

how at the inception the element of cheating existed.

35. In the present case, the main offence alleged by

the complainant is that the applicants have committed an

offence under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and to

attract the offence, it must have been shown that

fraudulent or dishonest intention was existed at the time

of commission of the offence. There is no allegation that

…..31/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

31

the applicants made any willful or deceptive

representations.

36. It is well settled that inherent jurisdiction under

Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is designed

to achieve salutary purpose that criminal proceedings

ought not to be permitted to degenerate into weapon of

harassment. When the Court is satisfied that criminal

proceedings amount to an abuse of process of law or that

it amounts to bringing pressure upon the accused, in

exercise of inherent powers, such proceedings can be

quashed.

37. In the facts and circumstances of the above case,

intention is the gist of the offence. It is the intention of the

applicants which must determine whether at the time of

accepting the proposal and premium, dishonest intention

exists which is an essential ingredient of the offence and

…..32/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

32

whether dishonest intention was in existence in causing

wrongful loss to the complainant.

38. On examination of the complaint and the

documents, at the most, it can be said that it is a simple

case of civil dispute only to the extent of breach of

contract. Requisite averments so as to make out a case of

cheating and fabrication of documents are absolutely

absent. A breach of contract does not give rise to criminal

prosecution for cheating unless fraudulent or dishonest

intention is shown right at the beginning. At the most,

allegation of failure to keep up promise will not be enough

to initiate criminal proceedings.

39. In this view of the matter, in my opinion, the

applicants have made out a case for quashing of the

proceedings and, therefore, continuation of the criminal

proceeding would be abuse of process of law.

…..33/-

Judgment

341 apl1687.22

33

40. In the result, I pass following order:

ORDER

(1) The Criminal Application is allowed.

(2) The order dated 2.11.2015 passed by learned Judicial

Magistrate First Class, Shegaon in Misc.Criminal Case

No.101/2009 and order dated 11.7.2022 passed by learned

Additional Sessions Judge, Khamgaon in Criminal Revision

Application No.70/2015 are hereby quashed and set aside.

(3) The criminal proceeding against the applicants bearing

Misc.Criminal Case No.101/2009 is hereby quashed and set

aside and the applicants are discharged of offences under

Sections 420 and 468 of the Indian Penal Code.

The application stands disposed of.

(URMILA JOSHI-PHALKE, J.)
!! BrWankhede !!

Signed by: Mr. B. R. Wankhede
…../-

Designation: PS To Honourable Judge
Date: 18/01/2025 13:22:09

Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *