CHAITAN M MANIAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE two criminal writ petitions can be conveniently disposed of by a common judgment as the facts involved in these two petitions are similar and the law points involved are identical. Both the petitions are filed by the same petitioner. The decision in Criminal Writ Petition No. 548 of 1998 will decide the fate of Criminal Writ petition No. 549 of 1998.

(2.) THE facts, on the basis of which Criminal Writ Petition No. 548 of 1998 came to be filed may be shortly stated. The petitioner is an advocate enrolled in the Bar Council of Maharashtra and he is also a Solicitor was a Member of the Bombay Incorporated law Society since 1965. He is a partner in the firm Messrs Crawford Bayley and Co. , Solicitors and Advocates. He is fully engaged in the practice of the profession of law with the said firm since over three decades. In this petition, the petitioner has inter alia prayed that the proceedings arising out of criminal Case No. 206/s of 1995 of 1998 pending before the Metropolitan Magistrate, 40th Court at Girgaum Mumbai, be quashed and set aside insofar as they relate to the petitioner herein.

(3.) THE firm of Messrs Crawford Bayley and co. used to act as Solicitors and Advocates for the REPL Engineering Ltd. a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 ("the said Company" for short ). The petitioner was appointed as one of the Non-Executive Directors of the said Company. The petitioner was taken on the Board of directors of the said Company as a qualified Advocate and Solicitor. It is the case of the petitioner that he has ceased to be a director of the said Company from 28-8-1997.