THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE B.SESHASAYANA REDDY Criminal Petition No.2255 of 2010 12th October, 2011 Between :- Konejerla Santhosh Kumar and another .. Petitioners And The State, Through Station House Officer, Tirumalagherry P.S., Rep.by the Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad and another .. Respondents THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE B.SESHASAYANA REDDY Criminal Petition No.2255 of 2010 ORDER:- This petition has been taken out by A.1 – Konejerla Santhosh Kumar and A.2 – M.Hari Babu Rao in Crime No.21 of 2010 of Tirumalgherry P.S., registered for the offences under Sections 387, 403, 406, 417, 419, 420, 408, 471, 506 read with 34, 120-B and 109 of I.P.C. The background facts, in a nutshell, leading to filing of this Criminal Petition by A.1 and A.2 in the above referred crime are:- The 1st petitioner and the 2nd respondent along with another carried on business in the name and style of Sri Lakshmi Marketing; Lalithamba Marketing; Lalithasri Marketing; Laxmisri Transport Company; Srimannarayana Cement Agencies; Kalki Padmavathi Sales Corporation and Sri Cement Trading Company. During the course of the business, they secured six lorries, three two-wheelers and an auto. Some disputes arose between the partners and thereupon, an agreement dated 10-8-2009 came to be executed between the parties. As per the terms of the agreement, the 2nd respondent opted to withdraw from the partnership business on receiving certain amount. The 2nd respondent filed a complaint before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Secunderabad, alleging that the agreement dated 10-8-2009 has been obtained from him and from his father by way of misrepresentation. For better understanding, I may refer para 5 of the complaint filed by the 2nd respondent before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Secunderabad, which reads as hereunder:- “In this juncture the accused No.1 with the help and participation of the accused No.2 called the complainant and his father to the office of the said Firms informing that they are settling the accounts and paying the investment and the profits of the Firms to the complainant and his father, the complainant and his father believing the version of the accused No.1 and 2 went to the office of the said Firms situated at Kubera Towers on 10-8-2009 and on the said date the accused No.2 already written an agreement as if it is prepared as per the will and wish and after settling the disputes between the complainant and the accused No.1 and 2 forced the complainant and his father to sign on the said agreement, otherwise they threatened the complainant and his father to see the end of their life. The signatures of the complainant and his father were taken on the said agreement at the point of threat with an intention to extort money from the complainant and his father.” The said complaint came to be forwarded to the Station House Officer, Tirumalgherry P.S. Thereupon, the Station House Officer, Tirumalgheery P.S., registered a case in Crime No.21 of 2010 and issued F.I.R. Hence, this Criminal Petition by A.1 and A.2 in the said crime to quash the proceeding therein. Notice to the 2nd respondent came to be ordered on 11-3- 2010. Respondent No.2 entered appearance through a Counsel. Heard learned Counsel appearing for the petitioners, Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for the 1st respondent and the learned Counsel appearing for respondent No.2. Learned Counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that the disputes between the 1st petitioner and 2nd respondent are purely civil in nature and the 2nd petitioner is no way concerned with the disputes between the 1st petitioner and 2nd respondent. A further submission has been made that the 1st petitioner filed a complaint against respondent No.2 and his father which formed the basis for registering a case in Crime No.304 of 2009 by the Station House Officer, Karimnagar I-Town P.S. The 2nd respondent and his father approached this Court by filing Criminal Petition No.10984/2009 and the said Criminal Petition came to be disposed of on 4-2-2010. According to the learned Counsel, in the given facts and circumstances, continuation of criminal proceedings against the petitioners in Crime No.21 of 2010 of Tirumalgherry P.S., amounts abuse of process of law. Learned Counsel appearing for the 2nd respondent submits that the petitioners threatened the respondent No.2 and his father to sign on the agreement dated 10-8-2009 and the same has been stated in the complaint presented by the 2nd respondent, in which case, the petition is liable to be dismissed. I have given anxious consideration to the contentions raised by the parties. The disputes are between the 1st petitioner and the 2nd respondent and they are relatable to the partnership businesses. An agreement dated 10-8-2009 came to be executed between the parties. The 2nd petitioner is neither an attestor to the agreement nor a party to the said agreement. What all stated in the agreement is that in the presence of the 2nd petitioner both the parties agreed to arrive at a settlement. If at all the 2nd petitioner threatened the parties to come to certain settlement, the parties to the agreement must have resiled from the terms of agreement by issuing a notice though not a report before the police. The agreement is dated 10-8-2009 and whereas the 2nd respondent filed a complaint before the Court on 28-1-2010. In the given facts and circumstances, I am of the view that continuing the proceedings against the 2nd petitioner – M.Hari Babu in Crime No.21 of 2010 of Tirumalgherry P.S., amounts to abuse of process of Court. With regard to the proceedings against the 1st petitioner, there seems to be a complaint filed by him against the 2nd respondent and the police after due investigation filed a charge-sheet, as to which version of the parties to the agreement dated 10-8-2009 is correct is required to be examined by the competent Court. Therefore, it is not a fit case to quash the First Information Report in Crime No.21 of 2010 against the 1st petitioner. In that view of the matter, the Criminal Petition is partly allowed quashing the proceedings in Crime No.21 of 2010 of Tirumalgherry P.S., against the 2nd petitioner – M.Hari Babu Rao Interim stay granted on 11-3-2010 shall stand vacated. ________________________ B.Seshasayana Reddy, J 12th October, 2011 smr