{"id":99689,"date":"2010-07-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-07-19T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/automobile-products-india-ltd-vs-das-john-peter-ors-on-20-july-2010"},"modified":"2016-10-15T12:37:52","modified_gmt":"2016-10-15T07:07:52","slug":"automobile-products-india-ltd-vs-das-john-peter-ors-on-20-july-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/automobile-products-india-ltd-vs-das-john-peter-ors-on-20-july-2010","title":{"rendered":"Automobile Products India Ltd vs Das John Peter &amp; Ors on 20 July, 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">Automobile Products India Ltd vs Das John Peter &amp; Ors on 20 July, 2010<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: D Verma<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: Dalveer Bhandari, Deepak Verma<\/div>\n<pre>           Crl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008\n\n\n                                                - 1 -\n                                                                               REPORTABLE\n                               IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA\n\n                              CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION\n\n                       CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.1304     OF 2010\n                  [Arising out of S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008]\n\n\n        Automobile Products India Ltd.                                   ....Appellant\n\n               Versus\n\n        Das John Peter &amp; Ors.                                           ....Respondents\n\n\n                                             J U D G M E N T\n<\/pre>\n<p>        Deepak Verma, J.\n<\/p>\n<p>        1. Leave granted.\n<\/p>\n<p>        2. Under the web of hypertechnicalities justice has taken a<\/p>\n<p>            back seat as is projected in the order dated 22.11.2006,<\/p>\n<p>            passed       by     Additional       Chief       Metropolitan      Magistrate,<\/p>\n<p>            Girgaum,        Mumbai      in    Crl.    Case   No.    38\/S\/2005    filed     by<\/p>\n<p>            appellant herein against accused                   respondent No.1 and 2,<\/p>\n<p>            whereby and whereunder the appellant&#8217;s criminal complaint<\/p>\n<p>            filed     under      Section       406    read   with   Section     34   of   the<\/p>\n<p>            Indian Penal Code [hereinafter referred to as &#8220;IPC&#8221;] and<\/p>\n<p>            under Section 630 of the Companies Act, 1956 (hereinafter<\/p>\n<p>            referred to as &#8220;the Act&#8221;) was dismissed. Against the said<\/p>\n<p>            order      of     dismissal,        the     appellant     herein     filed     an<\/p>\n<p>            application before the learned Single Judge of the High<\/p>\n<p>            Court in Criminal Application No. 450 of 2007 seeking<\/p>\n<p>            leave to file              the    appeal which was also dismissed on<br \/>\nCrl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>            14.7.2008,<\/p>\n<p>                                                  &#8211; 2 &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>        giving      rise     to    filing     of      this     appeal     by    the    original<\/p>\n<p>        complainant.             Unfortunately, the accused have also with<\/p>\n<p>        vehemence         supported        hypertechnicalities              adopted       by     the<\/p>\n<p>        aforesaid two courts, to contend that no interference is<\/p>\n<p>        called      for    in     the    light     of    the    facts    as    found       in   the<\/p>\n<p>        aforesaid two orders.\n<\/p>\n<p>        3. Facts shorn of unnecessary details are mentioned herein<\/p>\n<p>            below:\n<\/p>\n<p>        4. Appellant is a Company (hereinafter shall be referred to<\/p>\n<p>            as &#8220;the Company&#8221;) duly registered under the Act and is<\/p>\n<p>            carrying       on     business       of     manufacturing         two    and       three<\/p>\n<p>            wheelers&#8217; automobile products. Mr. V.S. Parthasarthy is<\/p>\n<p>            the Factory Manager of the Appellant-Company and has been<\/p>\n<p>            posted in Mumbai.              A resulution has been passed by the<\/p>\n<p>            Company         on         31.12.2001        to      authorise          Mr.         V.S.<\/p>\n<p>            Parthasarathy, Factory Manager to represent the company<\/p>\n<p>            and      to      sign,       verify,         execute        and     deliver          all<\/p>\n<p>            vakalatnamas,               pleadings,            complaints,           affidavits,<\/p>\n<p>            declarations,          petitions, written statements, rejoinders,<\/p>\n<p>            papers, deeds, receipts, assurances etc. in a court of<\/p>\n<p>            law.      On the same day, he has been duly authorised by<\/p>\n<p>            virtue of the Power of Attorney executed in his favour by<\/p>\n<p>            the     Appellant          Company          to     file   and      prosecute         the<\/p>\n<p>            aforesaid complaint.\n<\/p>\n<p>Crl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>        5. On the complaint having been filed before the Additional<\/p>\n<p>            Chief      Metropolitan         Magistrate,        the     same was<\/p>\n<p>                                                  &#8211; 3 &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>        registered.            The      allegation       in   the     complaint     is     that<\/p>\n<p>        company is having a flat situated at 17, Carmichael Road<\/p>\n<p>        (behind         Jaslok         Hospital),    Mumbai.          One    room   near   the<\/p>\n<p>        garage      (hereinafter          shall     be    referred      as    the   &#8216;servant<\/p>\n<p>        quarter&#8217;)         is also under the ownership of the company for<\/p>\n<p>        being used by its servants.                 Even though, the complaint was<\/p>\n<p>        filed under Section 406 \/ 34 of the IPC as also under<\/p>\n<p>        Section 630 of the Act, but cognizance was taken by the<\/p>\n<p>        trial court only under Section 630 of the Act.<\/p>\n<p>        6. Respondent No. 1 (accused No.1 herein) was working as a<\/p>\n<p>            caretaker with the Company to look after the flat.                           It is<\/p>\n<p>            not in dispute              that he has retired from the service of<\/p>\n<p>            the Company with effect from 6.3.1992.                             The servant<\/p>\n<p>            quarter was allotted to accused No. 1 by virtue of his<\/p>\n<p>            service in the company.                 Obviously, after his attaining<\/p>\n<p>            age of superannuation, he was supposed to have delivered<\/p>\n<p>            its       peaceful           and      vacant        possession          to     the<\/p>\n<p>            appellant\/company.             Instead       of   doing    so,    he    gave   its<\/p>\n<p>            possession to his daughter, accused No.2, and shifted to<\/p>\n<p>            Ambernath.         As on date, it is accused No. 2, daughter of<\/p>\n<p>            accused No.1, who is in actual physical possession of the<\/p>\n<p>            said servant quarter.\n<\/p>\n<p>        7. It is pertinent to note that a written undertaking is<br \/>\nCrl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>            said to have been tendered by respondent no.1 on 5.1.2000<\/p>\n<p>            to the effect that he will vacate the servant quarter<\/p>\n<p>            within one month thereof.\n<\/p>\n<p>                                                       &#8211; 4 &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>        8. Since        despite        serving         several    legal     notices     to    the<\/p>\n<p>            accused, they refused to hand over its peaceful vacant<\/p>\n<p>            possession to the appellant, it was constrained to file<\/p>\n<p>            the aforesaid complaint.\n<\/p>\n<p>        9. Shri V.S. Parthasarthy, appeared as PW-1, and                                deposed<\/p>\n<p>            before the Court circumstances under which accused No.1<\/p>\n<p>            was handed over possession of the servant quarter, where<\/p>\n<p>            he    had    worked        as    caretaker.           After     his    retirement,<\/p>\n<p>            despite promise made to the Company he has failed to<\/p>\n<p>            vacate the servant quarter.                    His evidence has been dealt<\/p>\n<p>            with     extensively            by    the    trial    court     but    it   is    not<\/p>\n<p>            required to be considered at this stage as Appellant&#8217;s<\/p>\n<p>            Criminal        Complaint            has    been     dismissed    on      technical<\/p>\n<p>            ground.\n<\/p>\n<p>        10.Defence of the accused                      in short    was that the complaint<\/p>\n<p>            as filed by company through Mr. V.S. Parthasarthy is not<\/p>\n<p>            maintainable         inasmuch          as    the   Power   of    Attorney        dated<\/p>\n<p>            31.12.2001, said to have been executed in favour of Mr.<\/p>\n<p>            V.S. Parthasarthy is a fictitious document.                           The services<\/p>\n<p>            of accused No.1 were never terminated and even after<\/p>\n<p>            retirement he came to be re-appointed.                           Thus, he has a<\/p>\n<p>            right to continue in its possession.                             As regards his<br \/>\nCrl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>            undertaking         given     to    the   Chairman    of   the   Company    on<\/p>\n<p>            5.1.2000, wherein he specifically agreed to vacate the<\/p>\n<p>            premises on or before 31.1.2000, he contended the same<\/p>\n<p>            was not tendered voluntarily, meaning thereby the same<\/p>\n<p>            was<\/p>\n<p>                                                 &#8211; 5 &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>        given under coercion, threat, undue influence,                       thus it was<\/p>\n<p>        not binding.\n<\/p>\n<p>        11.Learned trial court critically examined the Power of<\/p>\n<p>            Attorney and came to the conclusion that the same was<\/p>\n<p>            executed on 31.12.2001, was notarised on 5.6.2001, and<\/p>\n<p>            the stamp papers were purchased on 18.4.2002, which gives<\/p>\n<p>            rise      to    suspicion          with   regard     to    genuineness     and<\/p>\n<p>            correctness of Power of Attorney.                     Ultimately, it held<\/p>\n<p>            that the said Power of Attorney is a fictitious document.<\/p>\n<p>            Thus,     on    the    strength      of   it,   complaint    could   not   be<\/p>\n<p>            filed. As regards resolution of the company passed on<\/p>\n<p>            31.12.2001 was concerned, it was held that complainant<\/p>\n<p>            failed to file the same, while he was in the witness box.<\/p>\n<p>            Admittedly, the company faced financial crisis and has<\/p>\n<p>            since been closed with effect from 21.1.1993 under the<\/p>\n<p>            orders of BIFR.\n<\/p>\n<p>        12.Ultimately,            after    appreciating        oral    and   documentary<\/p>\n<p>            evidence available on record, the following order came to<\/p>\n<p>            be passed         by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate,<\/p>\n<p>            Mumbai.\n<\/p>\n<p>Crl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>                           &#8220;The accused No.1 Mr. Das John Peter and<br \/>\n                      accused No.2 Ms. Grace Peter are hereby<br \/>\n                      acquitted for the offence punishable u\/s.630<br \/>\n                      of the Companies Act.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>                           Their   bail   bonds,  if   any,   stands<br \/>\n                      cancelled.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>        13.    Feeling        aggrieved         thereof,   the    appellant          filed    an<\/p>\n<p>            Application          before         the   learned     Single Judge of the<\/p>\n<p>            High<\/p>\n<p>                                                   &#8211; 6 &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>        Court seeking leave to file appeal, against the order of<\/p>\n<p>        acquittal of the accused. Unfortunately, the learned Single<\/p>\n<p>        Judge did not examine the matter in proper perspective and<\/p>\n<p>        fell     into     grave        error,    in   refusing    to    grant    leave       and<\/p>\n<p>        rejected the appellant&#8217;s application, for prosecution of<\/p>\n<p>        the accused under Section 630 of the Act.<\/p>\n<p>        14.Feeling          aggrieved           thereof,   this        appeal    has     been<\/p>\n<p>            preferred by the complainant company.<\/p>\n<p>        15.We have accordingly heard Mr. Altaf Ahmed learned Senior<\/p>\n<p>            Counsel       for      the     appellant,      Mr.    Sanjay        Kharde       for<\/p>\n<p>            respondent No.1 and 2 and Ms. Asha Gopalan Nair, for<\/p>\n<p>            respondent          No.      3-State      of   Maharashtra          at    length.<\/p>\n<p>            Perused the record.\n<\/p>\n<p>        16.At the outset, we inquired from learned counsel for the<\/p>\n<p>            accused, whether he would be ready and willing to vacate<\/p>\n<p>            the premises, provided reasonable and sufficient time is<\/p>\n<p>            granted to them but learned counsel vehemently opposed<\/p>\n<p>            any such suggestion and contended that the complaint has<br \/>\nCrl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>            rightly been dismissed on technical grounds which went to<\/p>\n<p>            the root of the matter, therefore no interference is<\/p>\n<p>            called for.\n<\/p>\n<p>        17.With an intention to satisfy ourselves with regard to<\/p>\n<p>            the    correctness,           genuineness     and    authenticity    of     the<\/p>\n<p>            resolution dated 31.12.2001 passed by appellant company<\/p>\n<p>            in    favour      of    Mr.    V.S.   Parthasarthy     and    the   Power   of<\/p>\n<p>            Attorney<\/p>\n<p>                                                  &#8211; 7 &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>        of the even date, we requested the appellant to produce the<\/p>\n<p>        originals for our perusal.                     They have produced the same<\/p>\n<p>        before      us.    We      have   critically      and   with    microscopic     eye<\/p>\n<p>        examined the same. After doing so, we do not find either of<\/p>\n<p>        the      two      documents        can    be    termed     as    fictitious      or<\/p>\n<p>        manufactured documents so as to oust the appellant from the<\/p>\n<p>        arena of justice.\n<\/p>\n<p>        18.No doubt, it is true that Power of Attorney was executed<\/p>\n<p>            on 31.12.2001, but has been scribed on a stamp paper<\/p>\n<p>            purchased on 18.4.2002. But it has been notarised on<\/p>\n<p>            5.6.2002 and not on 5.6.2001 as has been noted by the<\/p>\n<p>            trial court.               The Rubber stamp seal put by the notary<\/p>\n<p>            clearly depicts it as 5.6.2002.\n<\/p>\n<p>        19.Thus, after going through the same, it leaves no shadow<\/p>\n<p>            of doubt in our mind that the same are genuine and duly<\/p>\n<p>            authorised Mr. V.S. Parthasarthy to file and prosecute<\/p>\n<p>            the complaint against the accused.                   We had also passed on<br \/>\nCrl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>            the originals to the learned counsel for the respondent-<\/p>\n<p>            accused          to      satisfy      himself      but     still,     after     going<\/p>\n<p>            through the same he persisted in his arguments tooth and<\/p>\n<p>            nail that the date of Power Attorney in fact is 5.6.2001<\/p>\n<p>            and not 5.6.2002.                However, we are unable to agree to the<\/p>\n<p>            argument       as       advanced      by   the    learned     counsel     for    the<\/p>\n<p>            accused       as      he    is    trying     to    stretch       it    beyond    our<\/p>\n<p>            comprehension.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>                                                   &#8211; 8 &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>        20.Admittedly, neither the Trial Court nor the High Court<\/p>\n<p>            have gone into the merits of the matter.                              Thus with an<\/p>\n<p>            intention to do complete justice to the parties, we have<\/p>\n<p>            heard the counsel for the parties at length and gone<\/p>\n<p>            through the merits of this appeal.\n<\/p>\n<p>        21.It is not in dispute that accused                           No. 1 was appointed<\/p>\n<p>            as     a    caretaker            to   look       after     the    flat    of     the<\/p>\n<p>            appellant\/company at &#8216;Kamal Mahal&#8217; Co-operative Housing<\/p>\n<p>            Society Ltd., Carmichael Road, Bombay 400 026 owned and<\/p>\n<p>            possessed by the Company.                    It is further not in dispute<\/p>\n<p>            that accused No.             1 had retired from the company w.e.f.<\/p>\n<p>            6.3.1992.          At      the     time    of     entering       into     service,<\/p>\n<p>            respondent No. 1 had entered into agreement with the<\/p>\n<p>            company        on        22.9.1980,        which         specifically      granted<\/p>\n<p>            permission to the company to revoke the licence, of the<\/p>\n<p>            servant quarter at any time and to take possession.                               It<br \/>\nCrl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>            is further not in dispute that on 5.1.2000 accused No.1<\/p>\n<p>            wrote      a     letter     to        the    Chairman     of    the      Company<\/p>\n<p>            specifically         and   categorically        agreeing       to    vacate    the<\/p>\n<p>            servant quarter by 31.1.2000. However, he did not deem it<\/p>\n<p>            fit and proper to honour his own                   commitment rather has<\/p>\n<p>            defied it on various grounds. To appreciate the arguments<\/p>\n<p>            as advanced by learned senior counsel Shri Altaf Ahmed<\/p>\n<p>            for     the    appellant,        it     is    necessary    to       examine    the<\/p>\n<p>            relevant provisions of the Act under which, the company&#8217;s<\/p>\n<p>            complaint was filed.\n<\/p>\n<p>                                                  &#8211; 9 &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>        22.Section 630 of the Act reads as under:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>               &#8220;630.     Penalty for wrongful                    withholding         of<br \/>\n               property property.-     (1)  If                   any officer         or<br \/>\n               employee of a company.-<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<pre>\n\n               (a)       wrongfully obtains                  possession         of   any\n               property of a company; or\n\n               (b)       having   any   such    property in  his\n               possession,    wrongfully     withholds   it   or\n<\/pre>\n<blockquote><p>               knowingly applies it to purposes other than those<br \/>\n               expressed or directed in the articles         and<br \/>\n               authorised by this Act,<\/p>\n<p>               he shall, on the complaint of the company or any<br \/>\n               creditor or contributory thereof, be punishable<br \/>\n               with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>               (2) The Court trying the offence may also order<br \/>\n               such officer or employee to deliver      up     or<br \/>\n               refund, within a    time to be fixed by the Court,<br \/>\n               any such property wrongfully       obtained     or<br \/>\n               wrongfully withheld or knowingly misapplied, or in<br \/>\n               default, to suffer imprisonment for a term which<br \/>\n               may extend to two years.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>        23.A reading of the aforesaid provision makes it clear that<br \/>\nCrl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>            a criminal complaint seeking possession of the servant<\/p>\n<p>            quarter at the instance of company against the accused<\/p>\n<p>            was maintainable and in our opinion cognizance thereof<\/p>\n<p>            was rightly taken by the Magistrate but committed a grave<\/p>\n<p>            error in rejecting it on technical grounds, instead of<\/p>\n<p>            deciding it on merits.\n<\/p>\n<p>        24.Learned counsel for appellant has also placed reliance<\/p>\n<p>            on Section 621 of the Act, dealing with offences against<\/p>\n<p>            the Act to be cognizable only on complaint by Registrar,<\/p>\n<p>            share holder or government.         To appreciate the arguments<\/p>\n<p>            in<\/p>\n<p>                                           &#8211; 10 &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>        this regard, the said Section 621 of the Act is reproduced<\/p>\n<p>        hereinbelow:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>                      &#8220;621. Offences against Act to be cognizable<br \/>\n                 only on complaint by Registrar, shareholder or<br \/>\n                 Government.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>                 (1)No court shall take cognizance of any offence<br \/>\n                    against this Act, which is alleged to have been<br \/>\n                    committed by any company or any officer<br \/>\n                    thereof, except on the complaint in writing of<br \/>\n                    the Registrar, or of a shareholder of a<br \/>\n                    company, or of a person authorised by the<br \/>\n                    Central Government in that behalf:\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>                 Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall<br \/>\n                 apply to a prosecution by a company of any of its<br \/>\n                 officers:\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>                 Provided   further  that   the   court  may   take<br \/>\n                 cognizance of offence relating to issue and<br \/>\n                 transfer of securities and non-payment of dividend<br \/>\n                 on a complaint in writing by a person authorised<br \/>\n                 by the Securities Exchange Board of India.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>                 (1A)    Notwithstanding   anything   contained   in   the<br \/>\nCrl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>               Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 (5 of 1898), where<br \/>\n               the complainant under sub-section (1) is the<br \/>\n               Registrar or a person authorised by the Central<br \/>\n               Government,   the  personal   attendance  of   the<br \/>\n               complainant before the Court trying the offence<br \/>\n               shall not be necessary unless the Court for the<br \/>\n               reasons to be recorded in writing requires his<br \/>\n               personal attendance at the trial.\n<\/p>\n<p>               (2)Sub-section (1) shall not apply to any action<br \/>\n                  taken by the liquidator of a company in respect<br \/>\n                  of any offence alleged to have been committed<br \/>\n                  in respect of any of the matters included in<br \/>\n                  Part VII (sections 425 to 560) or in any other<br \/>\n                  provisions of this Act relating to the winding<br \/>\n                  up of the companies.\n<\/p>\n<p>               (3) A liquidator of a company shall not be deemed<br \/>\n               to be an officer of the company, within the<br \/>\n               meaning of sub-section (1).&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>                                                    -11 &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>        25.However,           it       is     not       necessary        to    examine     the<\/p>\n<p>            applicability of the aforesaid Section 621 of the Act to<\/p>\n<p>            the     present        case      as    it   appears     to    be    doubtful   to<\/p>\n<p>            categorise accused No. 1, who was admittedly working as<\/p>\n<p>            caretaker, as an                officer of the company.            Thus, we deem<\/p>\n<p>            it fit and proper to leave the said question open at this<\/p>\n<p>            stage.\n<\/p>\n<p>        26.We      have      carefully            examined   the     originals      of     the<\/p>\n<p>            resolution dated 31.12.2001 as also Power of Attorney of<\/p>\n<p>            the even date executed in favour of Mr. V.S. Parthasarthy<\/p>\n<p>            and the irresistible conclusion is that the same are<\/p>\n<p>            genuine and do not come under the cloud of suspicion at<\/p>\n<p>            all.\n<\/p>\n<p>        27.That being so, in the light of the admitted position<br \/>\nCrl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>            that accused No. 1 retired in the year 1992 and has also<\/p>\n<p>            given an undertaking to the Company as far as back as<\/p>\n<p>            5.1.2000 categorically admitting and agreeing to vacate<\/p>\n<p>            the premises on or before 31.1.2000, it was incumbent on<\/p>\n<p>            his part to honour the same.\n<\/p>\n<p>        28.The letter of the accused No. 1 dated 05.01.2000 is<\/p>\n<p>            reproduced herein below:-\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>                            &#8220;In regard to the above subject I the<br \/>\n                  undersigned would be grateful to you if you<br \/>\n                  would give me one month time till January 31st<br \/>\n                  2000 to vacate the premises that was given to me<br \/>\n                  while I was in service with your esteemed<br \/>\n                  organisation.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>                                                    Das John Peter<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>        29. Even after taking into consideration all the defences<\/p>\n<p>            taken        by      accused,   their      eviction     from   the   servant<\/p>\n<p>            quarter<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>                                                &#8211; 12 &#8211;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>        is inevitable.            Since he has committed default of his own<\/p>\n<p>        promise, we have no other choice or option but to direct<\/p>\n<p>        the accused persons to vacate the premises by or before 1 st<\/p>\n<p>        October,       2010      and   to       hand   over   its   peaceful     vacant<\/p>\n<p>        possession         to the Company.\n<\/p>\n<p>        30.We have done so exercising the powers conferred on us by<\/p>\n<p>            virtue of provisions of Article 142 of the Constitution<\/p>\n<p>            which cast a duty on us to do complete justice between<\/p>\n<p>            the parties.\n<\/p>\n<p>        31.It     is    clear      from   the    impugned     orders   that   there   is<\/p>\n<p>            manifest illegality in the same and have resulted in<br \/>\nCrl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>             palpable injustice to the Appellant\/Company curable at<\/p>\n<p>             this stage under Article 142 of the Constitution as the<\/p>\n<p>             aforesaid powers are inherent on this Court as guardian<\/p>\n<p>             of the Constitution.\n<\/p>\n<p>        32.According to us, no useful purpose would be served even<\/p>\n<p>             if the matter is remitted to Magistrate for trial on<\/p>\n<p>             merits.      We hold so because equity also does not swing in<\/p>\n<p>             favour of the accused, who have displayed adamant and<\/p>\n<p>             dilatory attitude.\n<\/p>\n<p>        33.From the date of retirement of accused No. 1 till date,<\/p>\n<p>             more than 18 years have passed by and he has used the<\/p>\n<p>             servant quarter without having any right to do so. No<\/p>\n<p>             further      mercy        or   sympathy         can    be     shown    to   such   an<\/p>\n<p>             accused.\n<\/p>\n<p>        34.Thus, looking to the matter from all angles we are of<\/p>\n<p>                                                   &#8211; 13 &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>        the      considered            opinion        that         the     order     passed     by<\/p>\n<p>        Metropolitan Magistrate as also by                           the High Court cannot<\/p>\n<p>        be    sustained        in      law.        Same      are    hereby     set    aside     and<\/p>\n<p>        quashed.       This      we     have     to    do     to     give     quietus      to the<\/p>\n<p>        litigation which had commenced long years back.<\/p>\n<p>        35.Appellant&#8217;s complaint filed under section 630 of the Act<\/p>\n<p>             is hereby allowed and accused is granted time to vacate<\/p>\n<p>             the servant quarter as mentioned hereinabove on or before<\/p>\n<p>             1.10.2010       and       to   hand      over    its        peaceful    and   vacant<\/p>\n<p>             possession to the appellant company. In default thereof<br \/>\nCrl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008<\/p>\n<p>            accused shall have to suffer imprisonment for a term of<\/p>\n<p>            one year and fine of Rs. 10,000\/-. In default of payment<\/p>\n<p>            of fine, the accused shall suffer further imprisonment of<\/p>\n<p>            one month.\n<\/p>\n<p>        36.We hope and trust at least good sense shall prevail on<\/p>\n<p>            the accused and instead of running the risk of being sent<\/p>\n<p>            to jail, they would abide by the first part of the order<\/p>\n<p>            and do the needful. If the accused persons fail to do so<\/p>\n<p>            then the appellant shall be entitled to take police help<\/p>\n<p>            to get our order executed.\n<\/p>\n<p>        37.Appeal stands allowed accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>                                           &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.J.\n<\/p>\n<p>                                           [DALVEER BHANDARI]<\/p>\n<p>       New Delhi.                          &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.J.\n<\/p>\n<pre>       July 20, 2010                       [DEEPAK VERMA]\n<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court of India Automobile Products India Ltd vs Das John Peter &amp; Ors on 20 July, 2010 Author: D Verma Bench: Dalveer Bhandari, Deepak Verma Crl.A. @ S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008 &#8211; 1 &#8211; REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.1304 OF 2010 [Arising out of S.L.P.(Crl.)No.6204 of 2008] [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Automobile Products India Ltd vs Das John Peter &amp; 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