Saikat Goswami vs State Of West Bengal & Anr
2022 Latest Caselaw 3600 Cal

Form J(2)        IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
                    Criminal Revisional Jurisdiction
                              Appellate Side
Present :
The Hon'ble Justice Bibek Chaudhuri

                        C.R.R. 1583 of 2022

                           Saikat Goswami
                                 Vs.
                     State of West Bengal & Anr.

For the petitioner      :   Mr. Sabir Ahmed, Adv.
                            Mr. Mujibar Ali Naskar, Adv.
                            Mr. Apan Saha, Adv.

For the State           :   Mr. Moyukh Mukherjee, Adv.

Heard on                : 27.06.2022

Judgment On             : 27.06.2022.

Bibek Chaudhuri, J.

On the basis of a written complaint dated 5 th September, 2020

filed one Kishore Saha, Treasurer of one Mohunlal Club, affiliated to

the Cricket Association of Bengal alleged, inter alia, that the Secretary

of the Club namely Goutam Sur, since deceased, Assistant Secretary,

Saikat Goswami and the complainant himself are the joint signatories

operators of the bank account lying with the Central Bank of India in

the name of the said Club. It is alleged that after the death of

Goutam Sur, accused Saikat Goswami illegally forged the documents

and withdrew huge sum of money from the account of the Club and

converted the said sum amounting to Rs.15,00,000/- approximately

for his own use. On the basis of the said complaint, Shyampukur

Police Station Case No.141 of 2020 dated 7 th September, 2020 was

registered and on completion of investigation police submitted final

report against Saikat Goswami, petitioner herein.

The de-facto complainant filed a petition under Section 173(8)

of the Code of Criminal Procedure praying for further investigation of

the case. The learned Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate-I,

Calcutta by his order dated 12 th August, 2021 accepted the F.R.T. but

treated the said Narazi petition as the petition of complaint and fixed

the date for examination of the de-facto complainant and witnesses

under Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The petitioner has challenged the said order dated 12 th August,

2021 passed by the learned Magistrate.

It is contended by Mr. Ahmed that petitioner was nominated by

the Club as a representative of CAB. After his nomination he

tendered resignation from the membership of the Club. He had no

control over the accounts of the club. No signatory can alone

withdraw the amount from the bank as per the memorandum of

association. The Investigating Officer collected the bank report of the

club and did not find any anomaly in the transaction. Therefore, the

petitioner after examining the available witnesses under Section 161

of the Code of Criminal Procedure and on examining the documents

collected during investigation, filed FRT.

It is also pointed out by Mr. Ahmed that the Investigating

Officer seized bank account statements from Central Bank of India in

respect of account of Mohunlal Club from 01.01.2020. The statement

shows that from 01.01.2020 and the cheque period, the amount

deposited in the account of the Club was less than 15 lacks. Prior to

01.01.2020, the petitioner resigned from the Club. Therefore,

question of mis-appropriation of money does not arise at all. The

learned Trial Judge rightly accepted the FRT but his order of treating

the Nazari petition as petition of complaint is illegal and beyond

jurisdiction.

Mr. Moyukh Mukherjee, learned Counsel for the private

opposite party submits that Mohunlal Club has Executive Committee

Members duly elected or nominated. During his regime Saikat

Goswami set up a parallel Executive Committee. The Investigating

Officer examined only those persons who belonged to the camp of the

petitioner. The original club members were not examined. No

documents were seized from the Treasurer/private opposite party of

this case. Had those documents been seized, it could have asserted

as to whether there was mis-appropriation of money or not.

Mr. Ahmed, learned Counsel for the petitioner states that the

Trial Court correctly held that it is a civil dispute and he has placed

the copy of the plaint filed by Mohunlal Club and its present Secretary

against the petitioner and others.

I have carefully perused the copy of the plaint. The civil suit

was filed praying for declaration as to whether the Committee

constituted on the basis of election or nomination by the club

members or the committee constituted by Saikat Goswami, are valid

or not.

Here in this case, the de-facto complainant has come up with a

specific allegation of criminal mis-appropriation of money by the

petitioner during the period when he was at the helm of affairs of the

club.

The objection petition filed by the private opposite party being

the Treasurer of the Club was declared to be treated as petition of

complaint. The petitioner will have the opportunity to contest the

complaint. Therefore, I do not find any illegality or material

irregularity in the impugned order and accordingly, the instant motion

is summarily dismissed.

After the instant order being dictated, it is pointed out by Mr.

Ahmed that the petitioner resides outside the jurisdiction of

Shyampukur Police Station. Therefore, before taking cognizance

under Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Magistrate

ought to have obtained a report under Section 202 of the Code of

Criminal Procedure.

On fact it is not disputed cognizance has already been taken on

the basis of the objection petition as a complaint. Two witnesses

have already been examined and summons have already been issued

against the accused.

Under such circumstance, this Court is not in a position to

apply Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, the

learned Magistrate is at liberty to call for and verify any police report

in respect of any document submitted by the complainant or the

opposite party and on the basis of examination as to the authenticity

of the documents, he shall conclude the trial of the case.

(Bibek Chaudhuri, J.)