GAUHATI HIGH COURT ISSUES ORDER ON SRI SOURAV AGARWAL AND ANR. V/S THE STATE OF ASSAM AND ORS.

GUWAHATI, India, Sept. 5 -- Gauhati High Court issued the following order on Aug. 5:

1. Heard Mr. A.K. Gupta, learned counsel for the petitioners; Mr. R.R. Kaushik, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondent no. 1, State of Assam; and Mr. B. Dutta, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Ms. L. Rangpi, learned counsel for the respondent nos. 2 & 3.

2. The instant criminal petition under Section 528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita [BNSS], 2023 is preferred by the two petitioners seeking setting aside and quashing of a First Information Report [FIR] registered as Tinsukia Police Station Case no. 440/2024 and all subsequent proceedings undertaken subsequent to the registration of the case.

3. The FIR in connection with Tinsukia Police Station Case no. 440/2024 was lodged before the Officer In-Charge, Tinsukia Police Station on 30.11.2024 by the respondent no. 2 as the informant in the capacity of attorney of his son, Jai Aggarwal. In the FIR, the respondent no. 2- informant stated that Jai Aggarwal is the proprietor of M/s Apex Builder and Contractor having its place of business at Tinsukia. The respondent no. 2-informant stated that having been authorized to act as the attorney of the proprietor of M/s Apex Builder and Contractor in respect of his entire business affairs, he lodged the FIR on behalf of M/s Apex Builder and Contractor.

4. The contents of the FIR, shorn on unnecessary details, go to indicate that the two petitioners herein, who are named as accused in the FIR, paid a visit to the office of M/s Apex Builder and Contractor on 19.12.2021. The petitioner no. 2 was known to the respondent no. 2- informant since earlier as the informant was having a good relationship with the father-in-law of the petitioner no. 2. During the said visit, the informant was informed that the petitioners were allotted with five nos. of preliminary work orders, all dated 18.12.2018, by the office of the District Mission Director, Jal Jiwan Mission -cum- Executive Engineer [PHE], Dibrugarh Division. The informant further stated that the two petitioners had induced him to provide finance to them in order to execute the five nos. of work orders with the assurance that the petitioner no. 1 would look after the execution of the entire works. The informant was made to convince that if he would provide finance for the said work orders, the informant would be repaid the financed amount as and when the petitioners would receive the bill amounts in respect of the work orders. Both the petitioners at the time of soliciting financial assistance assured that the amount the informant would provide as financial assistance would be paid back by 31.03.2023 irrespective of the fact that whether fund would be received from the Jal Jiwan Mission or not. The informant further mentioned that as per the instruction of the petitioners, he provided finance from time to time from 27.12.2021 till the month of August, 2022 by making payment through bank transfer in the name of the petitioners and also in favour of the persons as instructed by the petitioners. The FIR further mentioned that the informant submitted sub-contractor invoices of his firm in respect of the work supervised by the petitioner no. 1 and the tax invoices were reflected in the GST portal of M/s Vijay Agarwal & Sons. The informant had contended that an amount of Rs. 3,11,95,664/- was financed to the petitioners and the petitioners agreed to repay the same within 31.03.2023 but they did not pay back the amount within time. Though during the next two years period the informant and his son had repeatedly tried to contact the petitioners but they avoided any communication with the informant's side. It was further alleged that whenever the informant's side tried to contact the petitioners, they had to face ill-treatment. The informant further alleged that at one stage, the petitioners promised that the money would be repaid within 31.10.2024.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/display_pdf.php?filename=bzPoyUlszYLCUcCpirIpqMHJ%2BCzXUmA2xGRNH%2B%2FDsRGB02ZTIXyBxzBY6NAuKv2C&caseno=Crl.Pet./1577/2024&cCode=1&cino=GAHC010274672024&state_code=6&appFlag=)

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