Case: Lee Kun Hee  Vs. State Of U.P


Decision:
0[ds]It is notlegitimate for the appellants to contend, that the actions attributed by JCE Consultancy to the accused, have no connectivity to territorial jurisdiction in India. Section 179 of the Code of Criminal Procedure vests jurisdiction for inquiry and trial in a Court, within whose jurisdiction anything has been done with reference to an alleged crime, and also, where the consequence of the criminal action ensues. Section 181(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure leaves no room for any doubt, that culpability is relatable even to the place at which consideration is required to be returned or accounted for. Finally, Section 182 of the Code of Criminal Procedure postulates that for offences of which cheating is a component, if the alleged act of deception is shown to have been committed, through communications/letters/messages, the court within whose jurisdiction the said communications/letters/messages were sent (were received), would be competent to inquire into and try the same. Thus viewed, it is not justified for the appellants to contend, that the allegations levelled by the complainant against the accused, specially in respect of the five appellants herein, are not relatable to territorial jurisdiction in India, under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure.It is notnecessary for us to re-examine the issue projected at the hands of the learned counsel for the appellants, in terms of the factual position noticed in the foregoing paragraph, because the instant submission, is in sum and substance, exactly akin to the one raised on behalf of the appellants as their primary submission. Having threadbare examined the primary contention, we are satisfied in rejecting the instant contention of the appellants, for exactly the same reasons which had weighed with us while dealing with the primary contention raised on behalf of the appellants.Having perused the pleadings filed before this Court, and having heard the learned counsel for the complainant-JCE Consultancy, as also, Sky Impex Limited, it becomes necessary for us to record their respective stances in respect of the involvement of the five appellants, with the allegations made by JCE Consultancy. First and foremost, it is necessary to mention, that in the complaint filed by JCE Consultancy, it was expressly averred in paragraph 1, that all the appellants herein were involved inand every act done by the(Samsung, Dubai). In the statement recorded under Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Shaikh Allauddin Paker Maiddin on 7.1.2005 deposed, that the appellants herein were individually and jointly liable for the commission of offences emerging from the complaint. How they were liable (if at all), is a question of evidence, which would emerge only after evidence is recorded by the trial court. But what is interesting is, that Sky Impex Limited, though an accused in the complaint filed by JCE Consultancy, has totally supported the accusation(s) levelled by the complainant against the appellants.Even though it was wholly unnecessary for us to examine, at the present juncture, the involvement or the culpability of the appellants herein, in the background of the accusations levelled by JCE Consultancy, and the supporting stance of Sky Impex Limited, we are of the view, that even the pleadings before us, prima facie demonstrate the connectivity of the appellants, with the foundational basis expressed in the complaint. We are, therefore, satisfied, at the present juncture, that it is undesirable to exculpate the appellants from the proceedings initiated by JCE Consultancy before the VIIth Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ghaziabad. Needless to mention, that the issue under reference may be reagitated, after evidence has been produced by the rival parties before the trial court.We have given our thoughtful consideration to the last contention advanced at the hands of the learned counsel for the appellants. We are of the considered view, that in offences of the nature contemplated under the summoning order, there can be civil liability coupled with criminal culpability. What a party has been deprived of by an act of cheating, can be claimed through a civil action. The same deprivation based on denial by way of deception, emerging from an act of cheating, would also attract criminal liability. In the course of criminal prosecution, a complainant cannot seek a reciprocal relief, for the actions of the accused. As in the instant case, the monetary consideration under the bill of exchange dated 1.2.2001, cannot be claimed in the criminal proceedings, for that relief the remedy would be only through a civil suit. It is therefore not possible for us to accept, that since a civil claim has been raised by the complainant-JCE Consultancy, based on the alleged breach of the agreement dated 1.12.2001, it can be prevented from initiating proceedings for penal consequences for the alleged offences committed by the accused under the Indian Penal Code. It would not be appropriate for us, to delve into the culpability of the appellants at the present juncture, on the basis of the factual position projected by the rival parties before us. The culpability (if at all) would emerge only after evidence is adduced by the rival parties before the trial court. The only conclusion that needs to be drawn, at the present juncture is, that even on the basis of the last submission canvassed on behalf of the appellants, it is not possible to quash the summoning order at this stage. In the aforesaid view of the matter, it is left open to the appellants to raise their objections, if they are so advised, before the trial court. The trial court shall, as it ought to, adjudicate upon the same in consonance with law, after allowing the rival parties to lead evidence to substantiate their respective positions.