In Brief
VBL, a PepsiCo franchisee, appointed Sanjay Sharma as a distributor. Upon contract termination, a dispute arose over outstanding dues of Rs. 9,46,280. VBL filed a criminal complaint under Section 138 NI Act after a cheque bounced. Sharma then filed a Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. application for misappropriation, which the Magistrate converted to a complaint case. Two years later, without pursuing the original application, Sharma filed an FIR under Sections 406/420 IPC against VBL officers. The Supreme Court held that while Section 210 Cr.P.C. permits concurrent complaint and FIR proceedings, this subsequent FIR constituted abuse of process and harassment, as it was filed with an unreasonable delay, referenced no pending proceedings, and appeared motivated by failure in the original case. The Court quashed the FIR and allowed the original Magistrate proceedings to continue.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.