OM PARKASH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this common judgment Criminal Misc. No. 4153-M of 1989, 4155-M of 1989, 4157-M of 1989 and 4159-M of 1989 can conveniently be disposed of because the question involved in all the petitions is identical. Even the parties are common. Petitioner was serving as Secretary of Fatehpur Niyamat Khan Co-operative Credit and Service Society Limited in District Sirsa in the years 1981 to 1984. In the arbitration references under Section 55 of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 dated 11.10.1984 the Assistant Registrar of the Societies gave an award against the petitioner. There were different awards in different petitions. In terms of the award, the petitioner is alleged to have deposited different amounts in instalments. The Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies got recorded a first information report against the petitioner with respect to the offence punishable under Section 409 IPC. The challan has since been filed in court and the learned Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Sirsa has framed the charge. In this regard four different challans have been presented.

(2.) PETITIONER seeks quashing of the first information report and the subsequent proceedings pending in the court on the short ground that once the award has been given by the Arbitrator appointed under the Punjab Co- operative Societies Act, the criminal proceedings on basis of the first information report cannot continue. Reliance has been placed by the petitioner on the decision of Single Bench of this Court in the case of Kashmira Singh v. State of Punjab, 1989(1) RCR 175.

(3.) THE petitioner's counsel said all that was possible in favour of his client. But the matter in question is concluded by the Division Bench decision of this Court in the case of Vijay Kumar v. State of Punjab, 1991(3) RCR 420. The decision in the case of Kashmira Singh's case (supra) was overruled. The Division Bench held that in such circumstances criminal proceedings can be initiated and can continue. The precise findings were recorded in paragraphs 5 and 6 which are being reproduced below for the sake of facility :-