SACHIN GARG Vs. STATE OF U.P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The appellant, at the material point of time, stood posted as the Head of factory of Exide Industries Limited ("EIL"), a corporate entity, situated at Bawal, District Rewari, Haryana. The respondent no.2, ran a proprietary concern, Ambika Gases. He was the supplier of Dissolved Acetylene Gas ("DA Gas"), which is used for manufacturing battery in the said factory. So far as the present appeal is concerned, the dispute is over a purchase order issued for the supply of the said item. The original purchase order dtd. 1/4/2019 was amended twice on the basis of representations made by the respondent no.2. The first amendment was made on 18/7/2019 by which the rate was increased from Rs.1.55 per unit to Rs.1.65 per unit and the second amendment was made on 20/12/2019 through which the rate per unit was brought down to Rs.1.48 from Rs.1.65. An invoice was raised by the respondent no.2 with the aforesaid rates for a total sum of Rs.9,36,693.18. The dispute revolves around non- payment of the said sum. However, it has been contended by the appellant that EIL, after ascertaining the market price of DA Gas from other vendors, by a letter dtd. 29/6/2020, reconciled the accounts by informing respondent no.2 of what it claimed was foul play with respect to revision of rates and appropriated the alleged illegal amounts claimed by the vendor (respondent no.2) from the invoice.

(3.) The respondent no.2 instituted a complaint case in the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ghaziabad and the substance of the complaint would be revealed from the following passages of the petition of complaint (registered as Misc. Application No.317/2020):-