Rakhi Goyal & Anr. v. State Of U.P. And 2 Others

#1. Heard learned counsel for the applicants; Sri Patanjali Mishra, learned A.G. for the State and perused the record.

#2. The present application u/s 482 Cr.P.C./528 B.N.S.S. has been filed with prayer to quash the framing charges order dated 20.08.2024; charge Sheet dated 03.06.2024; impugned summoning/cognizance order dated 10.06.2024 passed by the court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bulandshahar in Criminal Case No.6780 of 2024 (State vs. Sudhir Kumar Goyal and another) arising out of Case Crime No 25 of 2024 under Section 420 I.P.C., Police Station Kotwali Dehat, District- Bulandshahar.

#3. Learned counsel for the applicants submits that applicants are innocent and have been falsely implicated in the present case. On perusal of F.I.R., no offence under the alleged Sections is made out. The trial court without applying judicial mind in arbitrary manner, framed the charge under Sections 420 and 406 I.P.C. against the applicant. Framing of charge under the aforesaid sections is illegal, arbitrary, against the evidence collected by the I.O. and abuse of the process of the court in view of the judgment of Apex Court in Delhi Race Club (1940) Ltd. vs. The State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr., 2024 SCC OnLine SC 2248. It is next submitted that proceedings under Sections 420 and 406 I.P.C. cannot run jointly in view of the judgment of Apex Court in Delhi Race Club (supra) wherein the Apex Court in paragraphs 42 and 43 has held thus: "42. When dealing with a private complaint, the law enjoins upon the magistrate a duty to meticulously examine the contents of the complaint so as to determine whether the offence of cheating or criminal breach of trust as the case may be is made out from the averments made in the complaint. The magistrate must carefully apply its mind to ascertain whether the allegations, as stated, genuinely constitute these specific offences. In contrast, when a case arises from a FIR, this responsibility is of the police ? to thoroughly ascertain whether the allegations levelled by the informant indeed falls under the category of cheating or criminal breach of trust. Unfortunately, it has become a common practice for the police officers to routinely and mechanically proceed to register an FIR for both the offences i.e. criminal breach of trust and cheating on a mere allegation of some dishonesty or fraud, without any proper application of mind.

#43. It is high time that the police officers across the country are imparted proper training in law so as to understand the fine distinction between the offence of cheating viz-a-viz criminal breach of trust. Both offences are independent and distinct. The two offences cannot coexist simultaneously in the same set of facts. They are antithetical to each other. The two provisions of the IPC (now BNS, 2023) are not twins that they cannot survive without each other."

#4. Sri Patanjali Mishra, learned G.A. could not dispute the legal arguments and has not made any objection if the matter is remitted back to the concerned court for fresh order.

#5. Considering the argument raised by applicants' counsel and in view of judgment passed by Hon'ble The Apex Court in the case of Delhi Race Club (supra), framing of charges under Sections 406 and 420 I.P.C. by the order dated 20.08.2024 passed by learned Magistrate, is without application of judicial mind.

#6. Accordingly, the framing of charge order dated 20.08.2024 passed by the court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bulandshahar in Criminal Case No.6780 of 2024 (State vs. Sudhir Kumar Goyal and another) arising out of Case Crime No 25 of 2024 under Section 420 I.P.C., Police Station Kotwali Dehat, District-Bulandshahar, is hereby quashed.

#7. The matter is remanded back to learned Magistrate with direction that learned Magistrate shall pass an appropriate order within a period of four weeks from the date of production of certified copy of this order keeping in view the order of Hon'ble The Apex Court passed in the case of Delhi Race Club (supra).

#8. With aforesaid direction, the present application under Section 482 Cr.P.C./528 B.N.S.S. is accordingly, allowed. Order Date :- 11.8.2025 Meenu Singh MEENU SINGH High Court of Judicature at Allahabad