SHIV SHANKAR PRASAD YADAV Vs. ARYA SAMAJ

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The criminal petition under section 482 the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 has been filed by the petitioner to quash the criminal proceedings i.e. C.R. Case No. 560(S) 2006 under sections 468/465/420/419/418 pending before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shillong.

(2.) I have heard Mr. A.H. Hazarika, the learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. M.F. Qureshi, the learned Counsel for the respondents.

(3.) The facts and circumstances leading to the filing of this criminal petition may be briefly noticed at the very outset. There is a registered society under the name and style of Arya Samaj, Shillong, which is stated to be the sponsoring body of two school namely, Arya Kanya Vidyalaya School, Laitumkhrah, Shillong and Arya Vidyalaya Secondary School, Jhalupara, Shillong. The case of the petitioner is that there is a dispute between the Arya Samaj and Vidyalaya, Shillong and Arya Samaj, G.S. Road, Shillong for the management of the Arya Vidyalaya Secondary School, Jhalupara, Shillong and he is the Secretary of the Arya Samaj Vidyalaya and is also functioning as the Headmaster of this school. The respondent Nos. 1 and 2 have filed the said criminal case against him whereupon a non-bailable warrant of arrest was issued by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shillong against him. According to the petitioner, the dispute concerning the Managing Committee of the Arya Vidyalaya Secondary School is pending before this Court for final disposal and this Court stayed the functioning of the Managing Committee of the school whereupon the Director of Higher and Technical Education, Meghalaya passed the order dated 21.9.2006 stating that since the Court case was pending before this Court for final disposal the Managing Committee should not disturb the teaching and non-teaching staff of the school in respect of their services and emoluments as existed before the Managing Committee was constituted and should maintain status quo in respect of the overall management of the school till disposal of the case. The case of the petitioner is that the Arya Samaj thus has no power to interfere in the management of the school and has no locus standi to file the complaint case in question against the petitioner for misusing the school fund etc. It is the case of the petitioner that criminal proceeding being C.R. case registered against him under sections 468/465/420/419/418, IPC was filed with an ulterior motive to prosecute and harass him and that the allegations contained in the complaint petition do not constitute any of the offences alleged against him. He, therefore, contends that the complaint case is liable to be quashed.