RAMESH DHINGRA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ("crpc") seeks the quashing of Complaint No. 420 of 2003 titled R. S. Khurana v. Ramesh Dhingra and Another pending in the court of the learned metropolitan Magistrate ("mm"), Delhi.

(2.) RESPONDENT No. 2 Mr. R. S. Khurana (the complainant) was a retired officer of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Convener/president of the Hudson Line Residents Welfare Association. It is alleged that during his tenure as President, Respondent No. 2 had illegally obtained an allotment of 2. 1 acres of land in the colony, which had been set aside for public convenience, in favour of the Mohan Memorial Educational Society, whose Secretary was the son of respondent No. 2. The Petitioner is stated to have made representations to the lieutenant Governor (LG) protesting against this allotment.

(3.) ACCORDING to the Respondent No. 2 on 25th October 1999, one Mr. Jagdish lal came to his house and showed him printed pamphlets containing the aforementioned allegations against Respondent No. 2. Further Respondent No. 2 was informed by Mr. Jagdish Lal that it was the Petitioner who had printed and published these pamphlets and had given it to Mr. Jagdish Lal for distribution. This led to the Respondent No. 2 sending a lawyer's notice on 29th October, 1999 to the Petitioner stating that the pamphlet was defamatory and that he should compensate the Respondent No. 2 in the sum of Rs. 5,00,000 failing which respondent No. 2 would initiate criminal as well as civil proceedings. On 6th december, 1999 an article was published in the Indian Express, New Delhi edition referring to a statement made by the Petitioner that the Respondent No. 2 had misused his position. The said newspaper article represented that there was a gathering of about 200 residents who had gathered to demolish the boundary wall around the plot in question as an expression of their protest against the allotment.