IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Cr.Misc. No.29225 of 2000 A.B.SINGH & ORS Versus STATE OF BIHAR & ANR ----------- 8/ 25.6.2010 Heard Shri Y.V. Giri, learned senior counsel for the petitioners and Shri Dashrath Mehta, learned APP for the State. The petitioners are the Executive Director, Deputy General Manager (Cane) and Additional Cane Manager respectively of the company named and styled as M/s United Provinces Sugar Company Limited, Sheorahi, situated at and under P.S. – Sheorahi, District – Kushinagar in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The company was a sugar mill which was engaged in manufacture of sugar of different grades and for that it had to purchase sugarcane from its command area from farmers. Some of the command area like Dhanaha, which supply sugarcane to the sugar mills of the petitioners fall within the territory of this state. It appears that a proposal for supply of sugar by the farmers of the particular area was routed through the concerned department of the State of Uttar Pradesh on a proposal received from the sugar mill of the petitioners and that was duly forwarded to the Government of Bihar. That proposal was processed and after due consideration an order was passed by the State of Bihar on 4.11.1999 and, accordingly, the same was notified vide Annexure 3 by which it was made permissible that the farmers of Dhanaha shall be supplying their sugarcane to the sugar mills of the petitioners. The quantity to be supplied to the mill of the petitioners was also notified by the same 2 notification. It is not disputed that the complainant used to supply his sugarcane to the mill of the petitioners and he used to get the price fixed by the Government of India as regards the State of Bihar and farmers. What is alleged by the complainant is that the mill had assured him and other farmers to pay prices more than what was fixed by the Government of India and later on the mill was refusing to pay the same and, as such, the mill and its officers had committed an offence under sections 406, 420 and 120B of the IPC. It appears that the complaint petition bearing 207 C of 2000 was received by the A.C.J.M., Bagaha and it was made over to Shri Upendra Bhushan Mishra, S.D.J.M., Bagaha for enquiry under sections 192 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. After enquiry, the learned magistrate found material sufficient to summon the petitioner and the sugar mill for committing the above noted offence by order dated 20.6.2000. This is the order which is sought to be quashed in this petition. As may appear from the statement of facts, nothing is denied and whatever is alleged is a fact which could not be upheld to be a truth in the light of the notification as regards the fixity of price to be paid by a sugar mill to such a farmer. The admitted fact is that the complainant was receiving fixed price on supply of sugarcane from the petitioners’ sugar mill. It could not be said even on the plain reading of the complaint petition that the non-payment of any additional amount which was allegedly promised to be paid, could be constituting an offence inasmuch as the court had to take notice of the fact that nothing was to 3 be paid than what was fixed under the government notification. In the above view of the matter, the complaint petition appears constituting no offence and as such, the summoning order appears completely an abuse of the process of the court. In the result, this petition succeeds and the order dated 20.6.2000 is hereby quashed. Anil/ ( Dharnidhar Jha, J.)