BHANU JAYAN Vs. BEENA DEVARAJA PANICKER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein is the sole accused in C.C. No. 165 of 2015 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I, Haripad, and the first respondent herein is the defacto complainant in the said case. A complaint filed by her alleging the offences of cheating and forgery was forwarded for investigation to the police, and strangely enough, the police submitted final report under Section 383 IPC alleging extortion of a cheque from the hands of the complainant. The petitioner seeks orders quashing the prosecution under Section 482 CrP.C.

(2.) On hearing both sides, I find that the whole prosecution case is really doubtful, and rather baseless. What I mean is the prosecution case under Section 383 IPC. When the case of the complainant is one of cheating, the police found out a case of extortion punishable under Section 383 IPC. It is not known from where the police got such materials to submit the final report under Section 383 IPC when the complainant has no such case at all. Her definite case is one of cheating and forgery. Of course, even that case cannot be said to be free from doubts because, a prosecution brought by the accused against the complainant under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act is pending, and the subject matter of the said prosecution is the cheque involved in this case. It is not known whether the defacto complainant has made a protest complaint when the police submitted final report quite contrary to her allegations in the complaint. Let her pursue such remedies, if possible. In the present circumstances, it is quite definite that the prosecution under Section 383 IPC will not reach anywhere when the complainant, or the victim, has no such case of extortion. Of course, it appears that the issue actually relates to some business transaction between the complainant and the accused. The merits of those transactions cannot be now gone into. The short question for consideration here is whether there is any material to continue the prosecution against the petitioner under Section 383 IPC. When the complainant has no such case, and the final report is also not supported by any material to substantiate such allegations of extortion, the prosecution will have to be quashed.