Challenge against the order of the Hon’ble High Court of Rajasthan quashing the FIR registered against the respondent
2. Both the above appeals arise out of the First Information Report1 registered as FIR Case No.227 of 2017 at Police Station Pasi Ghat, District Siang East, Arunachal Pradesh for offences under section 420/120B/34 Indian Penal Code, 1860 lodged by Mr. Anil Agarwal attorney holder for Mr. Okep Tayeng, the proprietor of M/s Shiv Bhandar. This FIR was registered against several named accused, details of which will be dealt with at a later stage and additional names surfaced during investigation
3. Three of the accused namely Chandra Mohan Badaya and Respondent Nos.3 and 4 namely Shashi Natani and Rajesh Natani filed a petition for quashing the FIR before the Gauhati High Court registered as Criminal Petition No.91 of 2021. The said petition was dismissed by Gauhati High Court by judgment and order dated 24.06.2022. Aggrieved by the same, SLP (Crl.) No.7301 of 2022 has been filed by Chandra Mohan Badaya. Five other co-accused filed writ petitions before the Rajasthan High Court also praying for quashing of the same FIR No.227 of 2017.
4. These three petitions were allowed by the Rajasthan High Court vide judgment dated 23.05.2023. Aggrieved by the same, the State of Arunachal Pradesh has filed three Special Leave Petition Nos.8663-8665 of 2023. Interestingly the complainant did not come forward to challenge the order of the Rajasthan High Court quashing the proceedings. Since both the set of matters relate to same FIR, the same have been taken up together and are being decided by this common order.
Cheating in land selling by neither returning the amount nor hand over the land
6. Before entering into the arguments advanced by the parties, we may briefly refer to the contents of the complaint being FIR No.227 of 2017. According to the complaint, Rajesh Natani and Chandra Mohan Badaya contacted the complainant firm requesting for amount of Rs.1 Crore for consideration /exchange of land/building situated between Plot No.A-47 to A55, Sikar House, near Chandpole, Jaipur, Rajasthan. The said amount was deposited in four instalments on 19.07.2016, 20.07.2016, 22.07.2016 and 25.07.2016 in the accounts of Shri Ram Enterprises, A.R. Properties and Colonisers, Shashi Natani w/o Rajesh Natani and Chandra Mohan Badaya, as full payment for the sale of the aforesaid land/building. Thereafter, when the complainant visited the place of land/building, the accused persons refused to hand over the same. As such, it was clear that the accused persons had cheated resulting into suffering, mental agony, and financial loss. The accused persons failed to fulfil the above conditions of transferring the land. All the accused persons have conspired to cheat/commit fraud with the applicant. All the accused persons have earned huge amount through unlawful means and instead of fulfilling their promises, they threatened the complainant with consequences. Finding no other alternative, the FIR had been lodged for taking appropriate action against the accused persons.
State has challenged the Hon’ble High Court order
10. Surprisingly, the complainant M/s Shiv Bhandar has not come forward to challenge the order of the Rajasthan High Court. It is the State of Arunachal Pradesh which has challenged the order of the Rajasthan High Court.
It is not the case that the land was not transferred to the complainant or did not exist or had been sold or transferred to somebody else hence purely civil nature and not cheating
12. We are of the view that the matter was purely civil in nature. It was a case of money advancing for which no written document was executed to indicate its purpose or import as such whether it was a loan advance or an advance payment for transfer of property being land/building situated in Jaipur, is not borne out from any records. Such claim of the complainant that it was for transfer of property for land/building prescribed above, would be a matter of evidence to be led and established in the Court of law rather than the police investigating the same and finding out. It is not the case of complainant as stated in FIR that the plot/land as alleged by them which was to be transferred to them did not exist or had been sold or transferred to somebody else and therefore, there was an element of cheating by the accused persons. If the accused persons were not transferring the land and if the complainant could establish an agreement/contract with respect to the same in a Court of law, it ought to have filed a civil suit for appropriate relief. Appellant Chandra Mohan Badaya had already explained as to how he had already repaid Rs.37 lacs through bank transaction and also transferred two properties worth more than Rupees One Crore. All these aspects could be thrashed out before a competent Civil Court. It could not be said to be a case of cheating.
Once proceedings against other accused were quashed on the same nature proceedings against co-accused cannot continue
16. We are conscious of the fact that Pawan Agarwal, one of the Respondents herein in Criminal Appeal arising out of SLP No. 8663-8665/2023, had earlier filed Criminal Petition No. 110/2021 under section 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. before the Gauhati High Court and the said petition was dismissed vide order dated 26.11.2021. We are also conscious of the fact that SLP (Crl.) No. 999/2022 filed by him was dismissed as not pressed before this Court. However, today we are quashing the entire FIR Case No. 227/2017 registered at Police Station Pasi Ghat, District Siang East, Arunachal Pradesh and the consequential proceedings thereto. Rajasthan High Court, in the subsequent petition moved by Pawan Agarwal, has after noticing the proceedings initiated in Gauhati High Court has given relief to Pawan Agarwal and other respondents on the ground that no cause of action arose in Arunachal Pradesh. It is also important to note that after the Gauhati High Court had dismissed the Criminal Petition No. 110/2021 chargesheet was filed and we have considered the same. We have found the dispute to be of a civil nature and have quashed the FIR Case No. 227/2017. Hence, in exercise of the power under Article 136 of the Constitution of India we are not inclined to disturb the findings in favour of Pawan Agarwal in SB Criminal Writ Petition No. 989/2022 by Rajasthan High Court. Once proceedings are being quashed against all the other accused named in the FIR and in the chargesheet and considering the nature of findings we have recorded, proceedings against Pawan Agarwal cannot alone continue.
Party
THE STATE OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH …APPELLANT(S) VERSUS KAMAL AGARWAL & ORS. ETC. …RESPONDENT(S) – CRIMINAL APPEAL NOS. OF 2024 (Arising out of SLP(Crl.) Nos.8663-8665 of 2023) – 2024 INSC 317 – APRIL 18, 2024
https://main.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2023/25294/25294_2023_8_1504_52280_Judgement_18-Apr-2024.pdf