HIMANSHU BHUSHAN PAUL Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has invoked the inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for quashment of the entire criminal proceeding initiated against him including the order dated 28.6.1995, passed by Shri P.K. Sharma, Judicial Magistrate, Ranchi whereby and whereunder summons were directed to be issued against him and two others, the Court having been found a prima facie case for the alleged offence under Sections 426/500/504 of the Indian Penal Code against them in Complaint Case No. 378 of 1994.

(2.) THE brief fact of the case, as it stands narrated in the complaint case was that the complainant/opposite party No. 2 Bimal Das Gupta was the Executive Director of M/s Ranchi Cement Industries Private Ltd. having its registered office at Birendra Niketan, Peace Road, Lalpur, Ranchi. The said industry was proposed to be set up at Ranchi in the year 1986 and therefore, one Sudhendu Kumar Dutta was made the Chairman of the said industry whereas P.C. Dey Sarkar, Farraque Ali, V.P. Shaha, Himanshu Bhusan Paul (Petitioner). Mrs. Ila Gon and Banshi Dhar Agarwal were made the Directors who were the shareholders in the proposed industry. On the retirement of Panchu Gon from his service from Mecon, he replaced his wife Ila Gon as Director in the company. It was alleged in the complaint case that Mr. Panchu Gon and Banshi Dhar Agarwal in collusion to each other stopped the operation of account of the proposed industry in the State Bank of India and further stopped the financial assistance what the industry was receiving from the Bihar State -Financial Corporation at the moment while the construction work of the factory was going on in full swing. A meeting of the Board of Directors was held and by its resolution Banshidhar Agarwal and Panchu Gon were removed from the Board of Directors. After their removal, it was alleged, that Panchu Gon started creating mischief in collusion with Banshi Dhar Agarawal who started sending letters defaming the Executive Director, Bimal Das Gupta (complainant/opposite party No. 2) and S.K. Dutta by using filthy language. It was alleged that on the instigation of Panchu Gon, the petitioner Himanshu Bhusan Paul started defaming the Chairman and Executive Director and also started sending letters by using the filthy language to Sri S.K. Dutta and instigated his son Moy Paul to send letters to S.K. Dutta, some signed and unsigned in order to compel and blackmail the Chairman Sri S.K. Dutta and with the intention to grab the factory. It was alleged that the accused Moy Pal, son of the petitioner, had written letters on 1.6.1994, 28.8.1994 and 3.10.1994 with intention to damage the reputation of the complainant and the Chairman of the firm and to extort money from him.

(3.) MR . Majumdar further submitted that without appreciating this aspect that the petitioner was not the author of the defamatory letters alleged to be sent to the complainant, the learned Magistrate erred by directing the summons to be issued against him which would amount to miscarriage of justice.