IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA SLA No.25 of 2011 MAHESHWARI PRASAD Versus THE STATE OF BIHAR & ORS ----------- 2/ 21.4.2011 I have heard learned counsel for the parties on the merits of the SLA irrespective of the fact that the application has been filed with some amount of delay. The case was under sections 120B, 406 and 420 IPC and allegation was that in spite of receiving earnest money for selling a particular piece of land to the complainant and in spite of having entered into an agreement into writing, the accused persons did not convey the property by executing a sale deed in lieu of his father who had demised and who were also party to the agreement. The further case was that some part of the earnest money was received by the two respondents also. The court below appears discussing the evidence of the complainant in paragraph 9 of his judgment and he has specifically referred to one of the lines of the complainant which appeared in cross examination paragraph 17 in which the answer was that the complainant had filed the criminal case against the present accused persons on the basis being the sons of the vendor. The court below has gone on to point out that the cardinal principle of criminal jurisprudence was that a man could be punished for the act which he had committed and not for the act which he had not committed or which could be committed by any one else. This might also be a 2 sound reason assigned by the court below, but other principle of law which appears staring in the face of the present SLA is that in face of the fact that there was a written agreement to sell a property and there was some premium paid and received also, the usual and correct course of action would have been to enforce the part of performance of the contract, which would have come on the shoulders of the heirs of the contracting parties and that part of the transaction would never have constituted an offence. In view of the aforementioned findings, I find no merit in the present SLA which has been filed also after intervention of some delay. It is accordingly dismissed. Anil/ ( Dharnidhar Jha, J.)