{"id":11183,"date":"2025-11-04T10:31:37","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T10:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/?p=11183"},"modified":"2025-11-04T10:47:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T10:47:02","slug":"private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/","title":{"rendered":"Private Complaint In Non-Compliance Of Section 155(3) Of CrPC Is Not Maintainable"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 id=\"factual-background\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Factual_Background\"><\/span>Factual Background<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This case arose from a conflict between M\/s Caledon Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. (the petitioners) and Mr. Ashish Koruth Philip (the complainant), concerning ownership and control over an online domain name \u2014 routesrezworld.com \u2014 and allegations of cyber fraud and data misuse.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #0c0c0c;color:#0c0c0c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #0c0c0c;color:#0c0c0c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Factual_Background\" >Factual Background<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Procedural_Background\" >Procedural Background<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Core_Dispute\" >Core Dispute<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Arguments_on_Behalf_of_the_Petitioners\" >Arguments on Behalf of the Petitioners<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Arguments_on_Behalf_of_the_Respondent_Complainant\" >Arguments on Behalf of the Respondent (Complainant)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Judicial_Analysis_and_Reasoning\" >Judicial Analysis and Reasoning<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Review_of_IPR_Agreement\" >Review of IPR Agreement<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Arbitral_Award_Findings\" >Arbitral Award Findings<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Domain_Payment_Argument\" >Domain Payment Argument<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Procedural_Non-Compliance\" >Procedural Non-Compliance<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Applicable_Legal_Principle\" >Applicable Legal Principle<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Final_Decision\" >Final Decision<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Case_Details\" >Case Details<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Disclaimer\" >Disclaimer<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/private-complaint-in-non-compliance-of-section-1553-of-crpc-is-not-maintainable\/#Written_By\" >Written By<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>The complainant, Mr. Philip, claimed that he personally purchased and registered the domain routesrezworld.com through GoDaddy.com on 28th October 2019, using his own HDFC Bank account, for a payment of \u20b9400.85. He alleged that the domain was never part of any intellectual property transfer agreement with the petitioners, as the agreements between the parties dated 7th February 2019 were executed before this domain even existed.<\/p>\n<p>He further claimed that the petitioners later attempted to forcibly take control of his domain by changing passwords and credentials, misusing customer credit card data without authorization, and fraudulently operating the website for profit. The complainant alleged that this conduct violated PCI (Payment Card Industry) regulations and amounted to cybercrime.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, the petitioners \u2014 a company engaged in technological and software services \u2014 contended that routesrezworld.com was, in fact, their lawful business asset, transferred to them under an Intellectual Property Purchase Agreement (IPR Agreement) and Service Bond Agreement executed between Mr. Philip\u2019s former firm, StraightDrive Softlab LLP, and the petitioners. They asserted that the complainant\u2019s claim was false and had already been settled through arbitration proceedings, where his rights over the disputed domain were conclusively determined.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"procedural-background\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Procedural_Background\"><\/span>Procedural Background<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Following the complainant\u2019s allegations, a First Information Report (FIR) dated 3rd May 2025 was registered by Surya Nagar Police Station, Bangalore, bearing Crime No. 0185\/2025. The offences invoked included Sections 66, 66C, 66D, 84C, and 85 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, along with several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including Sections 3(5), 308, 314, 316, 318, 319, 323, 351, 353, 45, and 61(2).<\/p>\n<p>The petitioners, feeling aggrieved, approached the High Court of Karnataka under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (now Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023), seeking to quash the FIR on grounds that the dispute was purely civil and commercial, not criminal in nature. They argued that the matter had already been adjudicated in arbitration, where the complainant\u2019s claim was rejected, and thus, the continuation of criminal proceedings amounted to abuse of process of law.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"core-dispute\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Core_Dispute\"><\/span>Core Dispute<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The central question before the Court was whether the FIR and criminal proceedings initiated against the petitioners amounted to misuse of criminal law to re-litigate a commercial dispute that had already been conclusively decided in arbitration.<\/p>\n<p>Closely tied to this was the question of ownership over the domain routesrezworld.com: whether it belonged personally to Mr. Philip or was part of the intellectual property assets acquired by M\/s Caledon Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. under the IPR Agreement.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"arguments-petitioners\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Arguments_on_Behalf_of_the_Petitioners\"><\/span>Arguments on Behalf of the Petitioners<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The complaint was baseless, malicious, and filed to harass after losing in arbitration.<\/li>\n<li>Documents such as the Intellectual Property Purchase Agreement and Service Bond Agreement dated 7th February 2019 explicitly transferred all intellectual property to the petitioners.<\/li>\n<li>Arbitration award restrained complainant from using or interfering with routesrezworld.com and Caledonrez.<\/li>\n<li>Emails showed complainant acknowledged domain belonged to the company and sought permission for use.<\/li>\n<li>Initial domain payment reimbursed by company \u2014 proving business use.<\/li>\n<li>Procedural challenge: filing through cybercrime portal did not satisfy Section 173 BNSS.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"arguments-respondent\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Arguments_on_Behalf_of_the_Respondent_Complainant\"><\/span>Arguments on Behalf of the Respondent (Complainant)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Domain personally purchased in October 2019, not part of earlier IPR transfer.<\/li>\n<li>Company allegedly hacked GoDaddy account and altered credentials.<\/li>\n<li>Cybercrime portal complaint considered substantial compliance, relying on SC judgments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"judicial-analysis\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Judicial_Analysis_and_Reasoning\"><\/span>Judicial Analysis and Reasoning<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 id=\"ip-agreement-review\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Review_of_IPR_Agreement\"><\/span>Review of IPR Agreement<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The court examined the IPR Agreement. Clause 8(a) vested all IP with M\/s Caledon Technologies. Clause 8(b) required further execution of documents to effect transfer.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, ownership included domains developed for business.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"arbitral-award\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Arbitral_Award_Findings\"><\/span>Arbitral Award Findings<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Para 66 restrained complainant from interfering with routesrezworld.com and Caledonrez. Issue conclusively decided \u2014 criminal proceedings cannot reopen.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"domain-payment\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Domain_Payment_Argument\"><\/span>Domain Payment Argument<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Emails showed complainant acknowledged company&#8217;s ownership. Reimbursement proved business purpose.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"procedural-noncompliance\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Procedural_Non-Compliance\"><\/span>Procedural Non-Compliance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Cybercrime portal not \u201cpolice officer\u201d or \u201cpolice station\u201d. Complaint not compliant with Section 155(3) CrPC \/ Section 173 BNSS.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"legal-principle\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Applicable_Legal_Principle\"><\/span>Applicable Legal Principle<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Criminal law cannot settle civil disputes \u2014 Bhajan Lal precedent applied.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"final-decision\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Decision\"><\/span>Final Decision<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Dispute purely civil\/commercial.<\/li>\n<li>Arbitration already settled matter.<\/li>\n<li>FIR was abuse of process.<\/li>\n<li>FIR dated 3rd May 2025 (Crime No. 0185\/2025) quashed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"case-details\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Case_Details\"><\/span>Case Details<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<table border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"6\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Case Title<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Caledon Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. &amp; Ors. Vs. State of Karnataka &amp; Anr.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Neutral Citation<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>2025:KHC:43558<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Case Number<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Criminal Petition No. 7222 of 2025<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Order Date<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>30th October 2025<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Court<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Coram<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Hon\u2019ble Mr. Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2 id=\"disclaimer\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Disclaimer\"><\/span>Disclaimer<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The information shared here is intended to serve the public interest by offering insights and perspectives. However, readers are advised to exercise their own discretion when interpreting and applying this information. The content herein is subjective and may contain errors in perception, interpretation, and presentation.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"author\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Written_By\"><\/span>Written By<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Advocate Ajay Amitabh Suman, IP Adjutor [Patent and Trademark Attorney], High Court of Delhi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Factual Background This case arose from a conflict between M\/s Caledon Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. (the petitioners) and Mr. Ashish Koruth Philip (the complainant), concerning ownership and control over an online domain name \u2014 routesrezworld.com \u2014 and allegations of cyber fraud and data misuse. The complainant, Mr. Philip, claimed that he personally purchased and registered<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"two_page_speed":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[24],"class_list":{"0":"post-11183","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-criminal-law","7":"tag-just-in"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11183\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}