SOUMENDU MAZUMDAR Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH the petitions of the petitioners invoking the inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 Code of Criminal Procedure are taken together arising out of relevant and common causes.

(2.) IN Cr.M.P.No.986 of 2006, the petitioners have requested for the quashment of the order impugned dated 23.5.2006 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Jamshedpur in Cr. Revision No.11 of 2006 by which the revision preferred by the petitioners for setting aside the impugned order dated 04.01.2006 passed by Shri D.C. Awasthi, Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Jamshedpur was dismissed affirming the dismissal order of the application of the petitioners under Section 205 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in Complaint Case No. C -1 No.307 of 1997.

(3.) THE prosecution story as it stands narrated in the Complaint C/1 Case No. 307 of 1997 is that the Complainant -Respondent No.2 (Kamleshwar Singh) was an employee of TELCO, Jamshedpur since 1972 and was discharged from his service on 20.08.1990 to which reference case No. 12/1991 was subjucide before a competent Court. The complainant claimed to be the member of Telco Works Union, having its registration No.98. He claimed to be the member of its Executive Committee of said union also. The accused No.1 of the Complaint Case M/s Telco Limited, Jamshedpur is a Company, registered under the Indian Companies Act whose affairs used to be managed and governed by the Board of Directors, duly constituted as per the provisions of the Companies Act. The petitioners accused are the Senior Officers/ Office bearers of the Company. The complainant narrated that in terms of tripartite agreement dated 29.11.1973, a sum of Re. 1 per month was sought to be deducted from the salary of the workers/members as union subscription through "Check Off Form". The authorization of deduction of subscription so made was valid for a period of one year subject to renewal from time to time and pursuant to such agreement the Telco continued to deduct Re. 1 per month up -to August, 1995 from the salaries of the members of the Union. In October, 1995 it was detected by the members/ workers that the rate of subscription from their salary was raised from Re 1 to Rs. 5 per month, yet, no reply to their query was given by the management. On 02.04.1996 the matter was complained to the Registrar, Trade Union for the alleged increase in the subscription by Telco, followed by reminders. The Labour Commissioner endorsed the matter to the Deputy Labour Commissioner, Jamshedpur to enquire. The Telco while replying to the query to the Deputy Labour Commissioner stated that the increase in the rate of subscription towards union was initiated under the direction of Shri Gopeshwar, General Secretary to the registered Trade Union aforesaid who is an accused in the Complaint Petition. The complainant alleged that such direction was made without concurrence of the members of union or the members of the Executive Committee and that the management of Telco had been illegally deducting Rs. 5 per month as union subscription without obtaining authorization from the workers/ members at the behest and for the benefit of the accused Shri Gopeshwar the General Secretary of the said Union. Further allegation was that the accused fraudulently cheated the members of the union by amending the "Check Off Form" Form 8 of the Tripartite Agreement dated 29.11.1973 without adopting the prescribed procedure and by inserting the work "and will continue further" after the words "for a period of 1 year" in prosecution of criminal conspiracy. It was specifically alleged that the General Secretary i.e. an accused of the complaint Shri Gopeshwar forged the "Check Off Form" with a view to deceive the members of the Union who were employees under the management of Telco and in that manner the accused persons collected Rs. 11 lakhs from the earnings of the workers between the period September, 1995 and May, 1997 and diverted to the Union under the Full control of Shri Gopeshwar and in that manner the members of the Union were deprived of their property.