LexTHELAPALLI RAGHAVAIAH versus STATION HOUSE OFFICER AND ORS.
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r --J- lHELAPALLI RAGHA V AIAH A v. STATION HOUSE OFFICER AND ORS. MARCH 19, 2007 [DR. AR. LAKSHMANAN AND AL TAMAS KABIR, JJ.] B Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973-Section 482-Dispute arising from civil contract works-Filing of criminal complaint-Quashing of by High Court-Correctness of-Held: Entire reading of complaint discloses only C civil dispute between the parties- Thus, order of High Court calls for no interference. A Company was engaged in civil contract works. It obtained a contract for executing work on National Highway. It appointed the complainant as its sub contractor for carrying out the work of excavating gravel from the p Company's land and to deliver the same to work site. The complainant was carrying out its sub-contract. Then it lodged a criminal complaint alleging that the Company with an intention to cheat the complainant hatched a criminal conspiracy with others, created a fake report to cause wrongful loss to the complainant, misappropriated its amount making illegal deductions in the bills raised and co1o1mitted breach of trust. Criminal case was registered against E respondent nos 2 to 5 under sections 196, 199, 120 (B), 403, 406 and 418 IPC. Complainant then filed writ petition for direction to the police to file final report in connection with FIR before the Magistrate. Writ Petition was disposed of with the direction to the police. Thereafter, the Company filed petition under section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing FIR. High Court quashed the F criminal proceedings holding that the ~ompliant did not disclose any offence except a civil dispute between parties. Hence, the present SLP. Dismissing the SLP, the Court HELD: The complaint made by the petitioner primarily makes out a civil G . dispute relating to measurement of gravel delivered to the work site, though an attempt has been made to give the same a criminal flavour. High Court rightly held that the entire reading of the complaint does not disclose any offence except a civil dispute between the parties. Therefore, the order of the High Court impugned in the SLP calls for no interference, though the High 103 II 104 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] 4 S.C.R. A Court after noticing its earlier order in the Writ Petition could have stayed its hands till the Final Report was filed in connection with the F.I.R. (Paras 18 and 19) (108-B, C, DJ Indian Oil Corporation v. NEPC India Ltd.: (2006] 6 SCC 736 and Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia and Ors. v. Sambhajirao Chandrojirao Angre B and Ors., (1988) l sec 692, referred to. CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Petition For Special Leave to Appeal (Crl). No. 3030 of2006. From the final Judgment and Order dated 28.4.2006 of the High Court C of Judicature of Andhra Pardesh at Hyderabad in Criminal Petition No. 4799 of2005. R.K. Anand, K. Radhakrishnan, S. Udaya Kumar Sagar and Bina Madhavan for Mis. Lawyer's Knit & Co. for the Appellant. D G. Bikshapathy, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Hanumanth Reddy, Krishna Reddy, Rajiv Mehta, Raghavachary, Anupam Lal Das, Arunbabh Choudhary, Pragya Singh Baghel, Amit Sharma and D. Bharati Reddy for the Respondents. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by E ALTAMAS KABIR, J. I. On 21st June, 2005, the petitioner herein F lodged a First Information Report with the Kovur Police Station in. Nell ore District against the private respondent Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 herein alleging commission of offences under Sections 196, 199, I20(B), 403, 406 and 418 Indian Penal Code. 2. The complaint in short is that Raghava Infrastructure Private Ltd. was a Private Limited Company engaged in doing civil contract works. Soma Enterprise Limited is also doing civil contract works having its corporate office at 14, Avenue-4, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.and its site office near Saibaba Temple, Kovur, adjacent to National Highway-5. It was stated that the G respondent No. 3 was one of its Directors. The Respondent Nos. 4 and 5 are the Project Manager and Materials Engineer of the Company. 3. It was alleged in the complaint that Soma Enterprise Limited who obtained a contract for executing work on the Nellore Bypass Road on National Highway-5, appointed the complainant as its sub-contractor for H excavation and transportation of gravel for the formation- of embankment of _, "\ -L ' THELAPALLIRAGHAVAIAHv. STATION HOUSEOFFICER[ALTAMAS KABIR,J.] l 05 1 Nellore Bypass Road on National Highway-5 from Km 172.840 to 178.200 from A !st June,
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