Typical Example Of Frivolous Litigants Abusing Court Process To Achieve Mischievous Ends: Jharkhand HC Quashes Criminal Proceedings Against Century Cement
The Jharkhand High Court quashed criminal proceedings against M/s Century Cement (Prop. Century Textiles & Industries Ltd.) in relation to the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (NI Act).
The Court was deciding a batch of criminal miscellaneous petitions, seeking quashing of entire criminal proceedings pending before the Judicial Magistrate.
A Single Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi remarked, “… the present controversy poses a typical example of frivolous litigants abusing Court process to achieve their mischievous ends. Since the matter has already reached to the High Court, the High Court is required to pass appropriate order to prevent the abuse of its own processes, that this Court shall not suffer a litigant utilising the institution of justice for unjust means.”
Advocate Indrajit Sinha appeared for the petitioners while APPs Santosh Kumar Shukla, Shiv Shankar Kumar, and Rajesh Kumar appeared for the opposite parties.
Brief Facts -
A complaint case was filed alleging therein that the petitioners allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to encash the cheques provided to the petitioners under the agreement by forging and fabricating bills of huge amount despite no material having been supplied. The complainant further alleged that the petitioners illegally tried to encash the cheque and thereafter, initiated proceedings under Section 138 of NI Act. It was also alleged that the petitioners committed criminal breach of trust, cheating, and forgery for the purpose of cheating and utilizing the same for personal gains.
The High Court in view of the above facts observed, “… the case of cheating is not made out against the petitioners in the facts of the present case. … It is an admitted fact further that the cheque was issued as security pursuant to financial transaction by M/s New City Agency, which is admitted in the complaint petition itself and that cheque cannot be considered as worthless piece of paper under every circumstance.”
The Court said that when the case under Section 138 of NI Act was already filed by the petitioner-company, opposite party was having all the opportunity to defend the case in that pending complaint case and without doing so, he has filed the complaint case implicating the petitioners.
“… the present case is arising out of an agreement and the dispute, if any, is there, that is civil in nature and for that complaint case has been filed only to cut short the civil proceeding where some delay take place in deciding the cases and the present case has been filed after knowing about filing of the complaint case by the petitioner-company in the State of Chhatisgarh, which clearly suggests that this is a malicious prosecution against the petitioners”, it concluded.
Accordingly, the High Court allowed the petitions and quashed the entire criminal proceedings against the petitioner company.
Cause Title- M/s Century Cement (Prop. Century Textiles & Industries Ltd.) & Ors. v. The State of Jharkhand & Anr.
Appearance:
Petitioners: Advocates Indrajit Sinha, Ajay Kumar Sah, and Rishav Kumar.
Opposite Parties: APPs Santosh Kumar Shukla, Shiv Shankar Kumar, and Rajesh Kumar.