KASTURI LAL THAPAR Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS judgment will dispose of the above criminal miscellaneous filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as Criminal Revision Nos. 547, 675, 676 and 677, all of 1983, as all of these arise out of the same case.

(2.) THE facts relating to these petitions are that Bachittar Singh respondent filed a complaint to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Ludhiana, stating therein that he was the sole proprietor of Ankur Industries Thakkar Industrial Estate, Navghar Road, Bhayander East, District Thane, Maharashtra, while Kasturi Lal, present petitioner was his conductor in the said factory. He brought Kasturi Lal to Khanna in December 1979, to purchase some machinery from there for installing the same in the said factory. Some machinery was purchased at Khanna and handed over to Kasturi Lal and Dinesh Vaidya for taking it to Bhayander. After some time when Bachittar Singh respondent went to Bhayander he found that the said machinery had not been installed in the factory but had been dishonestly disposed of. On enquiry firstly Kasturi Lal and Dinesh Vaidya gave some evasive reply, but later on confessed that they dishonestly sold it to one Satyam Industries, Panchal Udyog Nagar, Bhayander.

(3.) BEFORE I proceed further, I may further make clear that one Ram Chand had filed Criminal Miscellaneous No. 4687-M of 1981 for quashing of the above F.I.R. No. 119 dated 12th July, 1980. That petition was dismissed by S.C. Mital J, on 9th November, 1981 on the ground that the matter was only at the stage of investigation by the police and the Court in exercise of its inherent jurisdiction could not interfere with the statutory power of the Police to investigate into the alleged offence and quash the proceedings.