RAVI KUMAR Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner Ravi Kumar has approached this Court for quashing Criminal Complaint No.163/2 of 2016, titled as Prem Singh vs. Ravi Kumar, filed by complainant-respondent No.2 Prem Singh (hereinafter referred to as complainant), pending in the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nalagarh, District Solan, Himachal Pradesh (hereinafter referred to as Magistrate), including summoning order dtd. 18/2/2017, passed by the Magistrate on the basis of complaint filed by complainant and material placed on record therewith.

(2.) Respondent No.1 is State of Himachal Pradesh, which has not been arrayed as a party by the complainant in the complaint filed under Sec. 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (hereinafter referred to as NI Act), but has been arrayed as respondent No.1 in the present petition. There is no role of the State in the matter and no relief has been sought against respondent No.1. Petitioner and complainant are the contesting parties.

(3.) From the material on record, certain admitted facts have emerged, according to which an Agreement dtd. 8/9/2015 was entered upon between the petitioner and complainant, whereby petitioner had agreed to provide 51 quintals of extracted material from Khair Wood at a rate Rs.300.00 less than the prevailing market rate at relevant point of time and as per agreement the aforesaid material was to be supplied by the petitioner to the complainant on or before 15. 4.2016. As per agreement, Rs.15,00,000.00 had been paid by complainant in advance to petitioner and Rs.20,00,000.00 was to be paid on or before 18/10/2015 and the remaining amount of Rs.10,00,000.00 was to be paid at the time of felling of trees. For default in supplying material, complainant was given right to take action, in accordance with law, to recover double of the amount paid in advance and in case of failure of complainant to receive delivery of the material, petitioner was given right to forfeit the advance money; and the petitioner had also issued a Cheque No.325699, drawn at Oriental Bank of Commerce Chandigarh, in favour of complainant, as a Security Cheque, enabling the complainant to recover the advance money in case of default on the part of petitioner.