TARAPADA ROY Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Revision is directed against the order impugned dated April 29,2009 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, FTC-III, Dhanbad in Cr. Appeal No. 243/2007 by which judgment and order recorded by Sri. M.C. Narayan, Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class on September 19, 2007 in CP. Case No. 1755/2005 corresponding to T.R. No. 620/2007 convicting the appellant under Section 630 of the Companies Act, 1956 was affirmed and upheld. By such order the petitioner Tarapada Roy having been found wrongfully withholding company's quarter was convicted and called upon to pay fine of Rs. 1000/- with default stipulation and also to vacate the quarter of Jharia Firebricks & Pottery Works Pvt. Ltd. i.e. the O.P. No. 2 herein within 30 days. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner was admittedly an employee of the said company and was allotted the quarter in question against monthly rent to which an agreement was entered into between the employer and employee petitioner therefore, seeking eviction from the quarter in question occupied by the petitioner under the Companies Act, other than by the process laid down under the Jharkhand Building (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act was unsustainable. The petitioner ceased to be employee since the year 1985 and the case under the Companies Act was filed in the year 2005 i.e. after 20 years, therefore, his criminal prosecution was barred by law of limitation under Section 468(2)(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The petitioner immediately deposited the fine amount soon after his appeal was dismissed.

(2.) The impugned judgment of the learned Judicial Magistrate indicates that Opposite Party No. 2 Ajay Kumar Agarwalla was examined as P.W.I, who was the Director of, Jharia Fire Bricks and Pottery Works (P) Ltd., a company under the Companies Act, 1956. He testified that company had its factory, office and the residential quarters for the employees at Dhartsar and quarter No. B-16 was allotted to the petitioner-employee Tarapada Roy during his employment. But he did not vacate the said quarter after he ceased to be employee in the said company for which he was requested several times orally and finally a legal notice was served upon him in the year 2005. The opposite party No. 2 further testified that no dues of the petitioner Tarapada Roy was pending with Jharia Fire Bricks and Pottery Works (P) Ltd. hereinafter referred to as a Company.

(3.) The learned Counsel for the O.P. No. 2 explained that since the petitioner ceased to be an employee of the company after September, 1985, he ought to have vacated the quarter in question but since then oral request was being made to him by the authority of the company but of no avail and ultimately a complaint was filed under Section 630 of the Companies Act, 1956 against the petitioner for his eviction from the company's quarter which he was withholding unauthorisedly. The question of limitation under Section 468(2)(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure did not arise in view of the fact that it was a continuous offence till filing of the complaint.