BHARATBHAI CHHAGANBHAI PATEL Vs. DHARMENDRA MAGANLAL DABHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Mr. Harshit S.Tolia, learned advocate for the respondent no.1 and Ms. Monali Bhatt, learned APP, for the respondent no.2, waive service of notice of Rule on behalf of respective parties. With the consent of the parties, the matter is heard finally today.

(2.) This petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India as well as Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for quashing and setting aside the complaint being Criminal Case No.2288 of 2014 pending before the learned 6th Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bhavnagar under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter referred to as the 'N.I. Act' for short) and the consequential proceedings, if any, initiated in pursuance thereof.

(3.) It is stated in the petition that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the respondent no.1 and 23 clients of the respondent no.1, which included the present petitioners and even by Arvindbhai Pragjibhai Jogani with regard to the land belonging to respondent no.1. It is stated that the said land was acquired by the Government and vested to the Agricultural Department and thereafter to Bhavnagar University. It is contended that from the very beginning the said MoU had no legal force or legal binding, as the persons signing it as the owners of the land, were not at all competent to sign the MoU. It is stated by the petitioners that they had no active role in execution of MoU except the fact that their names were included in the MoU as parties.