PRATAP NARAYAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, read with section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, seeking quashing qua the petitioner of R. C. No. 11/88, pending in the Court of Special Judge, Delhi.

(2.) AT the relevant time, the petitioner was working as Executive director of Fertilizer Coordination Committee (hereinafter referred to as 'ficc'), which was constituted by Government of India, Ministry of chemical and Fertilizers, to administer and operate the Retention Price scheme of the government for fertilizers. The functions to be performed by f. I. C. C. included fixation of ex-factory price of fertilizers and payment of subsidy to the manufacturers of fertilizers. One Shri P. K. Parmar, Managing director of Punjab Phosphate Private Limited submitted claims for grant of subsidy for the fertilizers alleged to have been produced by the Company during the period from December 1980 to July 1981. The case of CBI, as disclosed in the charge-sheet and the reply filed in this court is that the petitioner was party to a criminal conspiracy, pursuant to which Shri P. K. Parmar, Managing Director of Punjab Phosphate Private Limited and others submitted bogus subsidy claims, by falsely showing production and sale of Single Super Phosphate (hereinafter referred to as 'ssp') and fraudulently and dishonestly cheated Government of India of a sum of rs. 3,33,45,282/- by way of bogus/fake subsidy claims. According to the CBI, the petitioner in criminal conspiracy with Shri. P. K. Parmar and others abused his official position as a public servant "and facilitated Shri P. K. Parmar in obtaining bogus subsidy claims.

(3.) THE scope of exercise of power under Section 482 Cr. P. C. and the categories of cases where the High Court may exercise power under it, relating to cognizable offences, to prevent abuse of process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice were set out in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal; AIR 1992 SC 604. The illustrative categories indicated by the hon'ble Supreme Court are as follows: