Calcutta High Court Quashes Criminal Proceedings Against Sunil Mittal In Airtel User's Complaint Over Denial Of Discount, Alleged Forgery

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday quashed criminal proceedings in a private complaint alleging offences under Sections 465 and 468 of IPC against Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and another senior company official on the ground that allegations made in the complaint do not disclose any prosecutable case against them. Thus, the complainant in his complaint dated January 17, 2015 alleged offences of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy to have been committed against him by all the four accused persons including Mittal. Upon examination of the complainant and another witness under section 200 CrPC, the Magistrate vide order dated September 8, 2015, observed that a prima facie case under sections 465 and 468 of the IPC was made out against all the four accused persons named in the complaint including the petitioners and directed issuance of process against all of them under section 204 CrPC. That, the said words amply suggest that an opinion is to be formed only after due application of mind that there is sufficient basis for proceeding against the said accused and formation of such an opinion is to be stated in the order itself.” Quashing the proceedings against the petitioners, the court said: "On the entire discussion as above, this Court comes to the conclusion that, in this case to proceed against the present petitioners would only amount to gross abuse of the process of Court as well as that of law which is however, to be prevented, pursuant to the laws settled in this regard."