SURESH KUMAR GUPTA Vs. OM PARKASH ALIPURIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition Under Section 482, Cr. P. C. , (hereinafter called the Code) for quashing the proceedings initiated on the basis of a complaint filed by the respondent against the petitioner Under Sections 420 and 406, Indian Penal Code, pending in the Court of the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Ludhiana.

(2.) A complaint, Under Sections 420 and 406, I. P. C. was filed by the respondent against the petitioner on November 1, 1975, in the Court of the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Ludhiana, in which after recording the preliminary evidence, the petitioner was summoned Under Sections 420 and 406, Indian Penal Code. An application was made by the petitioner Under Section 245 of the Code, for dropping the proceedings against him. The said application was dismissed by the learned Magistrate by his order dated July 8, 1976 and a copy of the same is Annexure P. 5 to the petition. According to the averments in the complaint, the father of the complain-an. , respondent, Shri Sham Lal (who is alive) entrusted the petitioner on July 12, 1972, with an amount of Rs. 24. 800/- for the purpose of distributing the same amongst his sons. The respondent is one of his sons. The respondent was paid Rs. 7,000/- by the petitioner on the basis of two cheques which were encashed on August 3, 1972 and December 7, 1972. An amount of Rs. 2,223/-, more was to be paid to the respondent. The petitioner issued on April 1, 1973, Cheque No. A 639623 dated July 5, 1973, for Rs. 2,223/- in favour of the respondent at the residence of the respondent in the presence of his father and some other persons. The said cheque was drawn on the State Bank of Patiala. At the time of issuance of the cheque, an assurance was given by the petitioner that there will be no difficulty in getting the cheque encashed after July 5, 1973. This cheque was presented to the Bank on July 30, 1973, but the same was dishonoured. Thereafter, the respondent approached the petitioner a number of times for payment of the amount in respect of which the cheque had been issued, but the petitioner avoided to do so on one pretext or the other. It was further averred that if the respondent knew that the cheque would not be honoured, he would not have accepted the post dated cheque from the petitioner. It was also averred that the petitioner had dishonestly misappropriated the amount to his own use and had, thus, committed criminal breach of trust.

(3.) IN the present petition, it has been averred that the petitioner is an Advocate practising at Patiala. In the year 1972, he was deputed by Shri Sham Lal, the father of the respondent, to partition his property amongst his sons. Some amount in cash was also deposited with him for the purpose of compensating those sons who were given less share of immovable property. The immovable property was partitioned. The said Shri Sham Lal, father of the respondent, at first, filed a complaint against the petitioner in the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh on July 18, 1973, which was, however, dismissed. Thereafter, a suit for rendition of the account was filed in the Court of the Subordinate Judge, First Class, Patiala, on June 12, 1975, a certified copy of which is Annexure P. 2, which is still pending.