Y. SRIKANTH Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Petition, under Sec. 482 Cr.P.C., is filed by the petitioner/accused seeking to quash the proceedings against him in C.C.No.19 of 2019 on the file of learned Judicial First Class Magistrate, Palamaner, registered for the offences under Ss. 420 and 379 I.P.C.

(2.) The case of the defacto complainant is that he has been operating Narayana School buses on lease basis in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bangalore. Originally, the accused entered into an agreement with Narayana Educational Society for the said purpose and in pursuance of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dtd. 18/7/2013, allowed the defacto complainant as business partner of the accused with 50% of share in transport and maintenance of 59 school/college buses to Narayana Educational Society vide Transportation and maintenance agreement, dtd. 17/6/2013. While so, after completion of five years, disputes arose in between the defacto complainant and the accused regarding the share in business and after mediations held by the mediators, the defacto complainant got 25 buses as his share and the accused got 32 buses as his share.

(3.) While the matter being so, the main allegation is that on 10/7/2018 at 11.30 a.m., the accused with deceitful intention committed theft of eight buses bearing registration numbers 1)AP03TA8958, 2) AP29U7879, 3) AP02TA8928, 4) AP297880, 5) AP29V7892, 6) AP29V7893, 7) KA34A9670, and 8) AP29V7979, which were kept by the defacto complainant at the groundnut and rice mill of one T.N. Prathap @ Babu, and taken them away due to disputes in the transportation business. Upon filing of the complaint by the defacto complainant, a case in Crime No.91 of 2018 under Ss. 420 and 379 I.P.C. was registered. During the course of investigation, the stolen buses were seized by the police and produced before the concerned Magistrate. After completion of investigation, the police filed charge sheet against the accused for the offences punishable under Ss. 420 and 379 I.P.C., which came to be registered as C.C.No.19 of 2019. Seeking to quash the proceedings against him in the said C.C., the petitioner/accused filed the present criminal petition.