IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Criminal Misc. Application No. 657 of 2007 1. Smt. Savitri Devi W/o Sri Prem Kumar R/o Laxmi Bhakti Ashram Trust, Jeewani Bhai Road-6 Dehradun Road, Rishikesh, District Dehradun. 2. Smt. Neelam Devi W/o Sri Rajendra Tyagi R/o Laxmi Bhakti Ashram Trust, Jeewani Bhai Road-6 Dehradun Road, Rishikesh, District Dehradun. 3. Smt. Shila Devi W/o Dharm Sharma R/o Laxmi Bhakti Ashram Trust, Jeewani Bhai Road-6 Dehradun Road, Rishikesh, District Dehradun. 4. Sri Shyam Lal Agarwal S/o Sri Om Prakash Agarwal R/o Laxmi Bhakti Ashram Trust, Jeewani Bhai Road-6 Dehradun Road, Rishikesh, District Dehradun. 5. Sri Dhan Bahadur S/o Karan Bahadur R/o Laxmi Bhakti Ashram Trust, Jeewani Bhai Road-6 Dehradun Road, Rishikesh, District Dehradun. 6. Anil Kumar S/o Sri Nathu Ram R/o Laxmi Bhakti Ashram Trust, Jeewani Bhai Road-6 Dehradun Road, Rishikesh, District Dehradun. 7. Sri Sunil Kumar S/o Sri Taras Chandra Gupta R/o Laxmi Bhakti Ashram Trust, Jeewani Bhai Road-6 Dehradun Road, Rishikesh, District Dehradun. ………. Applicants Versus 1. State of Uttarakhand 2. Munish Kumar S/o Lala Visheshwar Prasad R/o 117/11 Sarvoday Nagar, Kanpur ..…. Respondents Present : Sri Sudhir Singh Advocate for the applicants. Sri P.S. Bohara, Brief holder for the State/respondent No.1. Smt. Monika Pant, Advocate holding brief of Sri Arvind Vashisth, Advocate for the respondent No.2. Dated : 28th July, 2011 Hon’ble Servesh Kumar Gupta, J. By way of this Criminal Misc. application moved under section 482 Cr.P.C., these seven applicants have sought the quashing of summoning order dated 04.07.2007 passed by 2 Special Judicial Magistrate, Rishikesh District Dehradun in criminal complainant No.279 of 2007, wherein these applicants have been summoned for the offence under sections 420/467/468/471 I.P.C. It appears that a complaint was filed by Sri Munish Kumar against these applicants alongwith Smt. Sarala Sharma. The Magistrate after recording the statements of complainant and witnesses under section 200 and 202 Cr.P.C., passed the cognizance order, as stated above. Smt. Sarala Sharma filed a separate criminal application No.589 of 2007 under section 482 Cr.P.C. wherein the entire order of cognizance was stayed by this Court on 20.08.2007. But the Court has been apprised that the petition of Smt. Sarala Sharma has been dismissed on merits. At the same time, these seven applicants, except Smt. Sarala Sharma, filed the separate Misc. application No.657 of 2007 whereupon the proceedings of the entire complainant case were further stayed by this Court. Now, this Court has heard learned counsel for seven applicants as well as learned counsel for the complainant Munish Kumar. On a bare look of the complaint, it appears that there is a dispute regarding the ownership/ Managementship over an Ashram named Laxmi Bhakti Asharam Trust situated at Jeewani Bhai Road-6, Dehradun Road, Rishikesh. Sri Munish Kumar claims the Ashram as in his control and supervision, while on the other hand, Smt. Sarala Sharma, who resides in Ashram itself, claims the ownership/ managementship of the Ashram in her exclusivity. Rests of the accused/appellants also reside in that Ashram. It has also been highlighted that Smt. Sarala Sharma filed an injunction suit against Munish Kumar seeking an injunction order restraining Munish Kumar from interfering in the Management/Chief Trusteeship of Smt. Sarala Sharma. She also sought a declaration in her favour to the effect that she is the 3 Manager/Chief Trustee of the said Ashram. In that suit No.516 of 2002 before the Civil Judge (S.D.), Dehradun, these applicants moved an affidavit in favour of Smt. Sarala Sharma with the averments ratifying the pleadings of Smt. Sarala Sharma. That suit has been ultimately failed upto the level of Hon’ble Supreme Court. So, the contention of learned counsel for Munish Kumar is that the affidavits, which the inhabitants of the Ashram i.e. applicants of this petition moved in favour of Smt. Sarala Sharma were false and they were all hand in gloves with Smt. Sarala Sharma and associated her in the advancement of her ill motive in order to strengthen her claim as Chief Manager/Trustee of the said Ashram, so they were also implicated as co-accused alongwith Smt. Sarala Sharma. Learned counsel has relied upon a precedent in the case of M/s. Indian Oil Corporation Vs. M/s. NEPC India Ltd. reported in 2006 AIR SCW page 3830, wherein the Hon’ble Apex Court has observed as follows:- “It is necessary to take notice of a growing tendency in business circles to convert purely civil disputes into criminal cases. This is obviously on account of a prevalent impression that civil law remedies are time consuming and do not adequately protect the interests of lenders/creditors. Such a tendency is seen in several family disputes also, leading to irretrievable break down of marriages/families. There is also an impression that if a person could somehow be entangled in a criminal prosecution, there is a likelihood of imminent settlement. Any effort to settle civil disputes and claims, which do not involve any criminal offence, by applying pressure through criminal prosecution should be deprecated and discouraged.” This Court is also of the view merely by moving the affidavits by these applicants in favour of Smt. Sarala Sharma in the Civil Suit of injunction, it is not sufficient to make them accused of section 120-B IPC alongwith section 420, 467, 468, 4 471 IPC only because of the adjudication of the civil suit against Smt. Sarala Sharma. So, in view of the above, this Criminal Misc. Application moved under section 482 has force and the same is liable to be allowed. The proceedings against all these applicants i.e. Smt. Savitri Devi, Smt. Neelam Devi, Smt. Shila Devi, Shyam Lal Agarwal, Dhan Bahadur, Anil Kumar and Sunil Kumar are quashed. It is made clear that the proceedings against Smt. Sarala Sharma will be free to go ahead. C-482 petition is allowed accordingly. (Servesh Kumar Gupta, J.) JKJ 28.07.2011