SANJAYBHAI SHAH Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY way of this petition, under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the petitioners have prayed to quash and set aside the summons issued against them by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Rajkot in Criminal Inquiry Case No. 23/2006.

(2.) THE facts in brief are that the applicant no. 1 is engaged in the business of manufacturing PET stretch blow moulded bottle / jars and mineral water. Applicant no. 1 entered into a Licence Agreement with a company named United Breweries Ltd. having the Trade Mark of Kingfisher. On 26.06.2004, respondent no. 2 original complainant entered into the agreement with the applicants wherein in the minutes of meeting it was recorded that M/s. Shivam Marketing shall sell Kingfisher Brand pouches and 20 ltrs. Jars in the city of Rajkot, Morbi and Jamnagar with effect from 01.05.2004 to 30.04.2005. In view of this agreement, respondent no. 2 paid Rs.5 lac towards Royalty to the company by DD No. 527200 dated 23.06.2004. On expiry of the said period of one year, the applicant informed respondent no. 2 about the expiry of the agreement. It is the case of the applicant that even after expiry of the said period, respondent no. 2 continued the said business without paying Royalty charges. It is the case of the applicants that respondent no. 2 issued notice to the applicants demanding a sum of Rs.5 lac. THE applicants replied to the said notice vide reply dated 26.11.2005. In the meantime, respondent no.2 had filed a private criminal complaint against the applicants being Criminal Inquiry Case No. 23/2006 for the offences punishable u/s. 323, 406, 420, 504, 506(2) and 114 IPC. THE said complaint came to be registered as Criminal Case No. 5493 of 2006. THEreafter, the learned Judicial Magistrate passed an order for issuance of summons against the applicants. Being aggrieved by the same, the applicants have preferred this application.

(3.) KEEPING in mind the principle laid down by the Apex Court in the aforesaid decision, I am of the opinion that the impugned complaint cannot be sustained in the eyes of law and deserves to be quashed and set aside. So far as Section 323 of IPC is concerned the appropriate remedy is to file a police complaint.