High Court
Case Details
Neutral Citation No. - 2024:AHC:113052 Court No. - 81 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. APPLICATION U/S 340 CR.P.C. No. - 1 of 2024 Applicant :- Committee Of Management And 2 Others Opposite Party :- Sarvesh Kumar Rohatagi Counsel for Applicant :- Ashok Kumar Singh,Rajeev Kumar Counsel for Opposite Party :- Gaurav Pratap Singh,Rajesh Kumar Shukla Hon'ble Manoj Bajaj,J. The applicants have filed this application under Section 340 Code of Criminal Procedure for initiating the proceedings against the opposite party-Sarvesh Kumar Rohatagi and punishing him for filing a false affidavit in Special Appeal No. 723 of 2023; titled Sarvesh Kumar Rohatagi vs. C/M Shri Bhagirathi Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya Garhmukteshwar, District Hapur and 7 others. Learned counsel for the applicants has submitted that the applicants alongwith others had filed a petition bearing Writ-C No. 20331 of 2023; titled
Legal Reasoning
Committee of Management Shri Bhagirathi Sanskrit Mahavidyala and 5 others vs. State of U.P. and 2 others, before this Court to challenge the order dated 26th May, 2023, passed by the Deputy Registrar, Firms Societies and Chits, Meerut Region, Meerut, wherein this Court vide order dated 27th September, 2023 (Annexure No. 1) had stayed the effect and operation of the impugned order dated 26th May, 2023. Learned counsel further argued that aggrieved against the order dated 27th September, 2023, the opposite party preferred Special Appeal bearing No. 723 of 2023 and therein pleaded that the elections of the society were lastly held on 1st April, 2002. Learned counsel has submitted that the date of election as given by the opposite party in the special appeal is wrong, and actually the elections of the society were held on 15.1.2002. He submits that since incorrect date of the elections is pleaded by the opposite party in Special Appeal No. 723 of 2023, which is supported with an affidavit, therefore, apparently it amounts to perjury and the proceedings against the opposite party deserves to be initiated under Section 340 Cr.P.C. During the course of hearing, it is not disputed by the learned counsel that the Special Appeal No. 723
Decision
of 2023 was finally disposed of vide order dated 1st November, 2023, and the objection regarding giving wrong date of elections was not raised, because according to the learned counsel, the applicants came to learn about the false pleadings after the decision of the appeal, when they read the annexures and noticed that the opposite party has wilfully and knowingly made a false assertion in paragraph 6 of the appeal on affidavit. Learned counsel has further drawn the attention of the Court to Annexure No. 4 to contend that pursuant to the elections dated 15.1.2002, the applicant no. 2 was elected as President and 13 other elected members have put their signatures on the list of the office bearers for the year 2002-2003 (Annexure No. 4). He submits that the said approval dated 28.10.2002 also bears the signature of opposite party, therefore, in this background, it becomes absolutely clear that Sarvesh Kumar Rohatagi had given a wrong date of election as 1st April, 2002 to mislead this Court. He prays that the proceedings against the opposite party under Section 340 Cr.P.C. be initiated. Learned counsel for the opposite party has argued that the applicants have approached this Court through this application under Section 340 Cr.P.C. without any cause of action as no written statement before the writ Court was filed by the opposite party, who had only challenged the order dated 27.9.2023 through the Special Appeal. He submits that since the appeal stands decided on the basis of the consent of both the contesting parties, therefore, the issue raised by the applicants has no substance. That apart, according to the learned counsel, the facts, circumstances and pleadings on record would not even remotely suggest that the opposite party had willfully and knowingly given a wrong date of election as 1st April, 2002, and prima facie no such case for initiation of proceedings under Section 340 Cr.P.C. would be made out. Learned counsel for the opposite party has argued that the application filed by the applicants deserves to be dismissed. After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and considering their submissions, this Court finds that the application filed by the applicants is baseless, frivolous and is without any cause of action. In order to test the stand of the applicants, if, by making false assertion in respect of the last elections of the society, any benefit is derived by the opposite party, learned counsel for the applicants was asked to produce the copy of the writ petition as the same is not on record. At this stage, learned counsel for the opposite party has produced the photo copy of the Special Appeal No. 723 of 2023 and the copy of the writ petition is part of the appeal. A perusal of the prayer clause in the writ petition would show that the writ petitioners invoked the extraordinary writ jurisdiction to challenge the order dated 26th May, 2023 passed by the Deputy Registrar, Firms Societies and Chits, Meerut Region, Meerut, who had declared the society as time barred w.e.f. the year 2002. Concededly, the Special Appeal filed by the opposite party was also contested by the applicants and others, but no plea regarding mentioning the wrong date of election as 1.4.2002 by opposite party was ever highlighted or pleaded. During the course of hearing, learned counsel for the applicants has fairly stated that the order passed by the Division Bench of the Court on 1.11.2023 deciding the Special Appeal has not relied upon the said wrong date of elections, i.e. 1.4.2002 and disposed of the Special Appeal based upon the consent of the parties, including all the writ petitioners, which reads as under:- "6. Sri Prabhakar Awasthi and Sri Gautam Baghel, learned counsel appearing for contesting respondent nos. 1 to 6 although tried to contend that the aforesaid respondents would have full locus to challenge the order of Assistant Registrar as thereby he has also discarded the membership of certain persons while recognizing membership of some others, who according to them, were not validly enrolled. However, they are not in a position to show that any valid election of the Managing Committee of the Society has been held after 2016-17. They submit that they will have no objection in case, the Assistant Registrar is permitted to hold elections under Section 25 (2) of the Act, but after determining the electoral college afresh, to which Sri Anil Bhushan, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the appellant has no objection. 7. Accordingly, in order to give quietus to the dispute and to ensure that a duly elected managing committee comes in control of the affairs of the Society, we dispose of the instant appeal as follows: (a) The order of the Assistant Registrar to the extent it directs for holding of election under Section 25 (2) of the Act is hereby upheld. (b) The parties are at liberty to file objection along with documentary evidence relating to membership of the Society within ten days from today along with true attested copy of the instant order before respondent no. 8. (c) Respondent no. 8 will, after public notice, determine the electoral college afresh, taking into consideration the objections filed by the parties herein or by any other person interested. (d) The electoral college will be finalized without being influenced by any finding recorded in the order dated 26.05.2023, which was impugned before the Writ Court." A reading of the above would show that the dispute, if any, arising between the parties stands adjudicated in view of the above noticed directions issued by the Division Bench of this Court. Admittedly, the applicants never raised this issue against the opposite party blaming him for committing perjury, much less during the proceedings of Special Appeal No. 723 of 2023, thus, the arguments by the learned counsel for the applicants that, prima facie, it is a case of perjury on the part of the opposite party is misconceived and without any merit. Examining the issue from another angle, this Court finds that indeed in para 6 of the Special Appeal, the opposite party has given the date of elections as 1st April, 2002, instead of 15th January, 2002, but in the considered opinion of this Court, it cannot be strictly construed as a deliberate and wilful pleading of wrong fact, because concededly the copy of the writ petition was also appended by the opposite party alongwith the grounds of appeal. Once the applicants never raised any objection about mentioning of wrong date in para 6 of the Special Appeal, which may be a typographical omission, therefore, this alone is not enough as a valid cause of action for entertaining the present application. The facts, circumstances of the case as well as absence of loss to the applicant or anyone else, this Court has no hesitation in holding that the applicants have unnecessarily filed this frivolous application and wasted the precious time of the Court. Here, it may be noticed that the parties are ad idem that vide order dated 1.11.2023, even the writ petition also stood decided and further, the directions contained in the order dated 1st November, 2023 already stood complied with, before the filing of the application under Section 340 Cr.P.C. on 11.3.2024. The applicants, who are engaged in running an Educational Institution have shown insensitive approach in invoking the jurisdiction of this Court by way of filing the application under Section 340 Cr.P.C. and for this, they deserve to be burdened with exemplary costs. Resultantly, the application fails and is hereby dismissed with the costs of Rs. 50,000/- (Fifty Thousand only) to be deposited before the Registrar General, High Court, Allahabad, who will, thereafter, forward the same to the High Court Legal Services Committee. In case, the amount of costs is not deposited within the stipulated time, the Registrar General, High Court, Allahabad shall take necessary steps for recovery of the costs, in accordance with law. The Registrar General and the High Court Legal Services Committee be informed of this order. Order Date :- 15.7.2024 Brijesh