Kanhaiya Kumar vs The State Of Bihar
2021 Latest Caselaw 467 Patna

     IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
             CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No. 30678 of 2020
      Arising Out of PS Case No.-32 Year-2020 Thana- DIDARGANJ District- Patna
======================================================

Kanhaiya Kumar (M) age 41 years, Son of Ganesh Singh, Resident of Village-Semra, P.S.-Begusarai Nagar, District-Begusarai.

... ... Petitioner/s Versus The State of Bihar

... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s    :        Mr. Baxi S R P Sinha, Sr. Advocate with
                                 Mr. Randhir Kumar No.1, Advocate
For the State           :        Mr. Madan Kumar, APP
For the Informant       :        Mr. Dhirendra Kumar Sinha, Advocate

====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE AHSANUDDIN AMANULLAH ORAL JUDGMENT Date : 29-01-2021

Heard Mr. Baxi S R P Sinha, learned senior counsel

along with Mr. Randhir Kumar No. 1, learned counsel for the

petitioner; Mr. Madan Kumar, learned Additional Public

Prosecutor (hereinafter referred to as the 'APP') for the State and

Mr. Dhirendra Kumar Sinha, learned counsel for the informant.

2. The petitioner apprehends arrest in connection with

Didarganj PS Case No. 32 of 2020 dated 08.02.2020, instituted

under Sections 406/408/420/379/506 of the Indian Penal Code.

3. The allegation against the petitioner is that he had

engaged the informant as a sub-contractor for various supplies and

initially payment was made but later on when certain machines

were provided on rent, the payment was not made and further it is Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.30678 of 2020 dt.29-01-2021

alleged that the petitioner had given a letter which shows that huge

amount was payable by the petitioner to the informant and also

that two cheques were fraudulently sent to the Bank for

encashment by the petitioner after stealing them from the bag of

the informant while he used to visit the office of the petitioner.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that a

plain reading of the FIR clearly shows that the dispute is with

regard to money, which is civil in nature and the very institution of

the criminal case is an abuse of the process of the Court. It was

further submitted that the informant was a muscleman and because

the petitioner was doing business, to make matters easy, some

work was given to him, but later he started demanding money due

to which the petitioner has also lodged a sanha with the police.

Learned counsel submitted that the informant has legal remedy of

moving the Civil Court for recovery of any money which he

claims is due from the petitioner but the criminal case is vexatious

and totally illegal. It was further submitted that the petitioner has

no other criminal antecedent.

5. Learned APP submitted that the allegation against the

petitioner is of not returning the money and also of misusing two

cheques.

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.30678 of 2020 dt.29-01-2021

6. Learned counsel for the informant submitted that

there is admission on behalf of the petitioner that he owns a huge

amount to the informant and further that the petitioner not

returning the money clearly amounts to an offence under Section

420 of the Indian Penal Code. It was submitted that the Hon'ble

Supreme Court in the case of Arnesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar

and Anr. in Cr. Appeal No. 1277 of 2014 [(Special Leave

Petition (CRL) No. 9127 of 2013] has held that in cases where the

punishment is up to seven years, the matter should be verified by

the police before any coercive action is taken and thus, the present

application is not maintainable.

7. Having considered the facts and circumstances of the

case and submissions of learned counsel for the parties, in the

event of arrest or surrender before the Court below within six

weeks from today, the petitioner be released on bail upon

furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 25,000/- (twenty five thousand) with

two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the

learned ACJM-IV, Patna City in Didarganj PS Case No. 32 of 2020

subject to the conditions laid down in Section 438(2) of the Code

of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and further, (i) that one of the bailors

shall be a close relative of the petitioner, and (ii) that the petitioner Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.30678 of 2020 dt.29-01-2021

shall cooperate in the case. Failure to cooperate shall lead to

cancellation of his bail bonds.

8. The application stands disposed off in the

aforementioned terms.

(Ahsanuddin Amanullah, J.)

Anand Kr.

AFR/NAFR U T