High Court acquitted two commercial dispute FIRs involving cheque allegations upon confirming amicable settlement between parties via Mou, directing petitioners to pay court costs.
Impugned FIR No.1274/2022 and FIR No.171/2018 quashed and set aside; Rule made absolute; Petitioners directed to pay costs.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
wp 2206.23-wp 1548.23.doc IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO. 2206 OF 2023
1. Nimesh Kantilal Jain,
602, Laxmi Mahal,
Road No.8, Daulatnagar,
Borivali (E),
Mumbai 400 066.
2. Gautam Shivshankar Pande
Age 54 years
P/1-003, Challenger Tower,
Thakur Village, Near Thakur Theatre,
Kandivali (E), Mumbai 400 101.
3. Rajaram Bavala Manjavkar
Age 73 years
704, 705, Sahyadri CHS Ltd.,
Sadgurunagar, Devipada,
Borivali (East)
Mumbai – 400 066.
4. Rajashree Rajaram Manjavkar
Age 64 years,
r/at C-704, 705,
Sahyadri Co-op. Housing Society Ltd.,
Sadgurunagar, Devipada,
Borivali(East), Mumbai 400 066.
5. Mukesh Gautam Pandey, Age 30 years,
Page No. 1 of 7 ______________________________________________ 14 July 2023
wp 2206.23-wp 1548.23.doc
1/003, Challenger Tower, Thakur Village, Kandivali (E), Mumbai.
6.Sunil Gautam Pandey,
Age 33 years,
1/003, Challenger Tower,
Thakur Village,
Kandivali (E), Mumbai.
7. Ritesh Virchand Shah
Age 44 years
r/at 701, Soni Tower,
Haridas Nagar, Borivali(West)
Near Kora Kendra Ground,
Mumbai 400092.
8. Sameer Shirish Dadia
Age 44 years
1102, Signia Hi, Vasant Marvel Road,
Borivali (E), Mumbai.
...Petitioners
Versus
1.The State of Maharashtra
(Originally through the Senior
Inspector of Police,)
Kasturba Marg Police Station,
Borivali (E)
but now at the instance of
DCB, CID, Unit No.12,
Dahisar (E), Mumbai
Page No. 2 of 7 ______________________________________________ 14 July 2023
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2. Udaykumar Vishnudev Singh,
Age 74 years
501/502, Vastu Residency,
Behind Nancy Cottage,
Borivali (E), Mumbai.… Respondents
WITH CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO. 1548 OF 2023
1. Nikhil Uday Kumar Singh Age 45 years, Occ. Business R/at B/24, Nancy Cottage, Near Shri Krishna Nagar, Borivali(E), Mumbai 2. Uday Kumar Singh Age-72 years, Occ. Business R/at B/24, Nancy Cottage, Near Shri Krishna Nagar,
Borivali (E), Mumbai. ...Petitioners Versus
1.State of Maharashtra Through Sr. PI Kasturba Marg
Police Station, Dist. Mumbai. 2. Gautam Shivshankar Pande Age 54 yrs Occ: Business r/at: P/1-003, Challenger Tower, Thakur village, Near Thakur Theatre, Kandivali East, Mumbai 400101. … Respondents
Page No. 3 of 7 ______________________________________________ 14 July 2023
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Mr Harshad Joshi a/w. Mr. Nishant Shah i/b. YRJ Legal for
petitioners in wp 2206/23 and respondent No.2 in wp
1548/23.
Mr Kuldeep Patil i/b. Saili Dhuru for petitioners in wp
1548/23 & respondent No.2 in wp 2206/23.
Mr. J.P. Yagnik, APP for the State.
CORAM: NITIN W. SAMBRE & R. N. LADDHA, JJ.
DATE : 14 JULY 2023
Order (Per R. N. Laddha, J.) :-
Heard learned counsel for the parties.
2.The learned counsel for the petitioner in Writ Petition
No.1548/23 seeks leave to amend the petition to add
Complainant as party respondent No.2. Leave granted.
Amendment be carried out forthwith.
3.Rule. The Rule is made returnable forthwith, with the
consent of the parties. The petitions are taken up for final
disposal. The learned counsel appearing for the parties waive
notice on behalf of the respective parties.
4.The Criminal Writ Petition No.2206/2023 is filed for
quashing the C.R.No.1274/2022, registered against the
Page No. 4 of 7 ______________________________________________ 14 July 2023
wp 2206.23-wp 1548.23.doc petitioners with Kasturba Marg Police Station, Mumbai, which was then transferred to DCB, Unit No.12, Dahisar East, Mumbai, for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 406,420,465,467,468,471 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
5.The Criminal Writ Petition No.1548/2023 is filed for
quashing the F.I.R. bearing C.R.No.171/2018, registered
against the petitioners with Kasturba Marg Police Station,
Mumbai, for the alleged offences punishable under Sections
406, 420 read with 34 of Indian Penal Code. Both the
aforesaid FIRs are with respect to the same incident.
6.The Petitioner No.2 in Writ Petition No.2206/2023 is
Respondent No.2 in Writ Petition No.1548/2023, and the
Respondent No.2 in Writ Petition No.1548/2023 is Petitioner
No.2 in Criminal Writ Petition No.1548/2023.
7.The learned counsel for the parties in these petitions
stated that the disputes have been amicably settled between
the parties. They submitted that these matters are arising out
of commercial transactions and cited the decisions of the
Hon’ble Supreme Court in Gian Singh v/s. State of Punjab &
Page No. 5 of 7 ______________________________________________ 14 July 2023
wp 2206.23-wp 1548.23.doc Anr. 1 and Narinder Singh & Ors. v/s. State of Punjab and Anr. 2. The parties in these petitions have filed Memorandum of Understanding dated 16 January 2023 and 14 July 2023 stating that they have settled their dispute amicably and they will abide by the terms and conditions mentioned therein. Respondent No.2 in Writ Petition No. 2206 of 2023Udaykumar Singh has tendered his consent affidavit and stated that he has already received an amount of Rs.1 crore. The parties agree to the terms and conditions of the Memorandum of Understanding dated 16 January 2023. The parties are present before us and stated that they have no objection to quash the impugned FIRs filed against each other as they want to put an end to their disputes and lead a peaceful life.
8. We have examined the facts of the case. It is revealed
from the record, particularly the affidavit, Memorandum of
Understanding and the statement made before the Court by
the contesting parties in these petitions, that they have settled
their dispute, and do not want to proceed against each other.
In such circumstances, no fruitful purpose will be achieved by
keeping the prosecution alive.
1 (2012) 10 SCC 303.
2 (2014) 6 SCC 466.
Page No. 6 of 7 ______________________________________________ 14 July 2023
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9.Considering the nature of the allegations, the nature of
the dispute between the parties, their relations with each
other, the amicable settlement between the parties, the prayer
of the Respondents in these petitions and the settled principle
of law in the case of Gian Singh and Narinder Singh (supra),
there appears to be no impediment in allowing the prayer of
quashing the impugned FIRs by consent. Upon expressing our
opinion, the learned counsel representing Petitioners, on
instructions, submitted that each of the Petitioners in these
petitions will pay costs of Rs.1,00,000/- to the Kirtikar Law
Library, Mumbai. The statement is accepted as an undertaking
given to this Court. Accordingly, we direct each of the
Petitioners in these petitions to pay costs of Rs.1,00,000/-
within three weeks of this order being uploaded.
10. In view of this, the impugned FIR bearing No.1274 of
2022 and FIR No.171 of 2018, registered at Kasturba Marg
Police Station, Mumbai, are quashed and set aside.
11. Rule is made absolute in these terms, and these Petitions
are disposed of subject to payment of costs as directed above.
R. N. LADDHA, J.
NITIN W. SAMBRE, J.
Lata.S.Panjwani, P.S.
Page No. 7 of 7 ______________________________________________ 14 July 2023
2 issues framed by the court
Whether impugned FIRs should be quashed upon filing of affidavit confirming amicable settlement between parties.
Whether judicial intervention is necessary when parties voluntarily agree to drop criminal proceedings.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Gian Singh v. State of PunjabExplained¶50
Gian Singh v/s. State of Punjab & Anr. 1
Narinder Singh v. State of PunjabExplained¶50
Narinder Singh & Ors. v/s. State of Punjab and Anr. 2
2 provisions across 1 enactments
Nimesh Kantilal Jain
Gautam Shivshankar Pande
Nikhil Uday Kumar Singh
The State of Maharashtra
Gautam Shivshankar Pande
Nikhil Uday Kumar Singh
R. N. Laddha
Nitin W. Sambre
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court