V.G. Sabhahit, J.—This appeal by the complainant is directed against the judgment of acquittal passed by the Court of the Additional Civil Judge (Junior Division), Udupi, in Criminal Case No.3325 of 1997, dated 10.7.2001, wherein the respondent has been acquitted for the offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act’).

The essential facts of the case leading upto this appeal with reference to the rank of the parties before the Trial Court are as follows:

2. The appellant herein filed a private complaint under Section 200 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, against the accused alleging that the accused had borrowed a sum of Rs. 25,000 from the complainant in January 1996 on the pretext that he needed the money urgently for the medical treatment of his close relative. The complainant lent the money in cash, on sympathetic grounds since he knew the accused for several years. The accused promised to repay the amount within two months and there was no agreement to pay any interest. However, the accused did not bother to repay the amount within two months and after persistent reminders, he issued a cheque dat