Mahesh Prasad Kamble v. State of Maharashtra
In the High Court of Bombay
Cr. App. 186/2016
Before Justice Ranjit More and Justice V.L. Achliya
Decided on February 23, 2016

Relevancy of the case: Quashing of criminal proceedings for an offence under Section 66D along with Section 420/467 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66D)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 34, 406, 420, 465, 466, 467, 468, 474)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The petition is filed for the quashing the criminal proceedings for the Criminal Case 510/PW/2012.
• The applicant was the trustee of Suman Education Society which runs L.N. College of Management. In 2010, he admitted 47 students for the MBA course, by stating that their college was affiliated with Indira Gandhi National Open University.
• He misrepresented the facts and thereby cheated the students. An amount of ₹1.5 Lacs was collected from each student.
• Since the college was never affiliated with the said University, the respondents ultimately approached the Consumer Forum for the refund of the fees.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the parties have agreed to settle their differences with the help of friends and well-wishers. The complainant and other aggrieved persons have consented to this. Also, 37 students who were lured to take admission, continued their education in the applicant’s college and have completed their course without any grievance against him.
• The respondent’s counsel submitted that they wished to quash the criminal proceedings by their free will.

Opinion of the Bench

• The bench accepted the proposal of the learned counsel of the petitioner which stated that the applicant will pay an amount of ₹10 Lacs as repentance. Hence, the petitioner was directed to pay the abovementioned amount to an NGO.
• In these circumstances, the court referred to the case of Madan Mohan Abbot v. State of Punjab and held that no purpose will be served by keeping this criminal proceeding.

Final Decision

• Application allowed.
• FIR quashed subject to certain conditions.

This case summary has been prepared by Loreal Sahay, an undergraduate student at University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2021.