ASTEC LIFESCIENCES LTD Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule made returnable forthwith, with the consent of parties. Counsels for respective parties waive notice.

(2.) M/s Astec Life Sciences (petitioner no.1) manufactures insecticides, drug intermediates and agro chemicals at its plant in MIDC Dombivali, District Thane. The company has another plant at Mahad District Raigad. Petitioner No.1 company supplies its products to the customers from domestic market and exports them for the customers based in USA, UK, Europe and other foreign countries. It has its own quality control department where every product is tested, to ensure that it conforms to the required standard. Petitioner No.1 entered into a contract with Nath Bio-gene (I) Limited of Aurangabad (Respondent no.3) for sale of 3134 Kilograms of Imida cloprid 48% FS worth Rs. 27,41,389/-. The product was tested in the laboratory of petitioner no.1 company and was delivered to Nath Bio-genes (Respondent No.3) during 31st January 2007 to 12th April, 2007. Under clause 3 of the purchase order (Exhibit'E') respondent no.3 was to accept the delivery only after inspection of the consignment and testing the product for quality, till then the consignment was to be treated as delivered for approval by respondent no.3. After delivery of the goods, Respondent no.3 issued four cheques for Rs. 8,75,000/- towards part payment. Petitioner no.1 deposited cheques issued by respondent no.1 towards part payment of the purchase price with Colaba branch of State Bank of Hydrabad on 5th June and 15th June 2007. As these cheques deposited with State Bank of Hydrabad on 5th June 2007 and 15th June 2007 were dishonoured, Astec served Nath Bio-genes with notice dated 23rd June 2007 under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, for securing payment. On 15th of June 2007, Respondent no.3 convened a meeting. Officers of respondent no.3 bullied Ramesh Pingle ( Petitioner no.6), K.V.Rao ( Petitioner no.7) and L.D.Alur ( Petitioner no.5) for signing the minutes showing that Imidacloprid supplied by the Astec was substandard. These representatives of petitioner no.1 denied correctness of the findings regarding quality of Imidacloprid arrived at by respondent no.3. Representatives of the petitioner no.1 Company were virtually confined and were threatened. Under coercion they made an endorsement on the reverse of the sheet that they are not authorized to sign the minutes. Instead of making payment Nath Bio-genes filed false and frivolous complaint with Waluj Police Station on 27th June 2007, alleging that the petitioners have committed offences punishable under sections 406, 420, 468 and 471 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

(3.) The petitioners maintain that the product was duly tested in their laboratory before dispatching the consignment to respondent no.3. As per the terms of the purchase order, the contract was to conclude only after the product was tested and approved by respondent no.3. Till the tests were performed, the goods were to be with the consignee on approval basis. As respondent no.3 has not carried out the tests, the petitioners can not be blamed. From the sequence of events it is apparent that respondent no.3 has raised a controversy and has filed a criminal complaint against the petitioners with ulterior motive to avoid payment of the purchase price. According to the petitioner no.1 it is a reputed company and is engaged in supplying its products to customers from National and International Markets. Standard of the quality control tests for the domestic and international market are the same. Products of petitioner no.1 company were not rejected in the international or the domestic markets. Quality of Imidacloprid supplied by petitioner no.1 to Nath Bio-genes was not inferior. Respondent no.3 has filed complaint against petitioners with ulterior motive to avoid payment of the price. No offence is disclosed by the recitals of F.I.R. even at this stage. On this premise the petitioners have filed present petition for quashing complaint filed by Nath Biogenes with Waluj Police on 27th June 2007.