IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD WEDNESDAY, THE NINETEENTH DAY OF AUGUST TWO THOUSAND AND NINE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G. BHAVANI PRASAD Criminal Petition Nos.6459, 6460 and 6465 of 2009 Between: D. Achutya Reddy .. Petitioner AND The State of A.P. rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court, Hyderabad and another .. Respondents The Petitions under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. praying that in the circumstances stated in the grounds filed therewith, the High Court will be pleased to quash the proceedings in C.C. No.250 of 2008 on the file of XVII Metropolitan Magistrate, Hyderabad; the proceedings in C.C. No.436 of 2008 on the file of XX Metropolitan Magistrate, Hyderabad and the proceedings in C.C. No.436 of 2008 on the file of XVII Metroplitan Magistrate, Hyderabad. The petitions coming on for hearing, upon perusing the petitions and the grounds filed in support thereof and upon hearing the arguments of Smt. S. Nanda, Advocate for the petitioner and of the Public Prosecutor for the 1st respondent in all the three cases, the Court made the following: COMMON ORDER: Heard Smt. S. Nanda, learned counsel for the petitioner in all the three cases and Sri A. Ramesh, learned counsel representing the learned Public Prosecutor for the 1st respondent in all the three cases. No notice is being ordered to the 2nd respondents in the three petitions, as the matters are being disposed of at the stage of admission. The criminal petitions are filed mainly on the ground that 13 blank cheques and 13 blank pronotes retained with the 2nd respondents are being misused to implicate the petitioner in identical cases for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 420, 406 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, the ingredients of which offences are not attracted, on the allegations made by the 2nd respondents in the criminal cases. All the three cases are being prosecuted against the petitioner on the private complaints filed by the 2nd respondents and on reference of the private complaints to the police for investigation and report under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the statutory investigating agency conducted investigation and filed charge- sheets alleging that the petitioner is found, during investigation, to be prima facie guilty of offences punishable under Sections 420, 406, 506 and 507 of the Indian Penal Code. The petitioner mainly contends that there is no legally enforceable debt due to the 2nd respondents and whatever amount due to them was repaid by the petitioner, which is evident from the statement of account of the petitioner’s banker and the blank pronotes and blank cheques in possession of the 2nd respondents are being misused to fabricate false cases. But the questions raised by the petitioner are pure questions of fact and in a summary enquiry under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Court will not go into the disputed questions of fact. While it cannot conduct any deep fact finding probe in exercise of the inherent jurisdiction available only in rarest of rare cases, Smt. S. Nanda, learned counsel for the petitioner brings to notice that while the cheques were dishonoured on 17-03-2004, the notices were given only on 19-06-2004 and the complaints themselves were filed into Court after abnormal delay much later to the petitioner himself filing the complaint against the 2nd respondents on 24-06-2004. It is true that if the prosecutions are in respect of the offences under Section 138 read with Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, they could have been successfully defended on the ground of bar of limitation, but the offences for which the petitioner is being prosecuted herein are different, which do not involve any question of limitation. Merely on the ground of delay, the criminal proceedings cannot be quashed and as already stated, the questions involved being disputed questions of fact, the criminal petitions do not appear sustainable under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Therefore, the criminal petitions are dismissed. _____________________ G. BHAVANI PRASAD, J Date: 19-08-2009 Svv