The main legal point established in the judgment is that for a prosecution under Section 138 of the NI Act to be valid against the Director of a Society registered under the TCLSCSR Act, the society must be made an accused in the complaint. The court's decision was based on the interpretation of relevant legal provisions and case law.

K. Harilal, J.

The revision petitioner is the accused in ST No. 1220/2008 on the files of the Judicial First Class Magistrates Court-III, Thiruvananthapuram. She is the Director of M/s Women Empowerment and Human Resources Development Centre of India, a Society registered under the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act, 1955 (for short the TCLSCSR Act). She was prosecuted for the offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (for short the Nl Act), on a complaint filed by the 1st respondent herein. After trial, the learned Magistrate found the revision petitioner guilty for the said offence and convicted thereunder. She was sentenced to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- and in default, to undergo simple imprisonment for one month, Aggrieved by the conviction and sentence, the accused preferred Criminal Appeal No. 274/2012 and the complainant preferred Crl RP No. 65/2011 alleging inadequancy of sentence before the Court of Sessions, Thiruvananthapuram. After hearing both the appeal and revision together, the learned Sessions Judge concurred with the findings of the Trial Court, as regards conviction; but enhanced the sentence, by directing the revision petitioner to pay a fine of Rs. 3 lakhs will a default clause of two months simple imprisonment and thereby allowed the revision petition and dismissed the appeal, by the impugned common order The legality, proprietary and correctness of the findings, whereby the Appellate Court confirmed the conviction and enhanced the sentence, are under challenge in this revision petition.

2. The Society had availed a loan from the complainant Bank and in discharge of that liability, in part, the accused had drawn and issued Ext. P2 cheque dated 29/09/2008 for an amount of Rs.3 lakhs and when the complainant presented the cheque for encashment, the same was dishonoured and returned with an endorsement that the payment stopped by the drawer and thereby the accused committed the offence punishable under Section 138 of the Nl Act.

3. In the oral evidence given as DW1, she denied the entire allegations and stated that a one term settlement was arrived at between the complainant and the Chairman of the Society, after resolving the entire disputes and consequent on that settlement, Ext. P2 cheque was issued; but the complainant latter withdrew from the settlement. Hence, she gave a stop payment letter to the Bank and the cheque was dishonoured and returned on her instruction. She maintained the above stand, when she was questioned under Section 313 of the CrPC also.

4. After evaluating the evidence given by the accused, the Court below concurrently found that the complainant had successfully discharged the initial burden; but the accused had miserably failed to rebut the presumptions which stood in favour of the complainant and thereby she is liable to be punished under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. This is the factual matrix from which this revision petition has come up, before this Court.

5. Though, this revision petition has been filed on various grounds, challenging the concurrent findings of the Court below, on merits, the learned counsel for the revision petitioner mainly contended that the prosecution itself was not maintainable, as the complaint was filed without arraigning the Society, the drawer of the cheque, as an accused in the complaint. According to the learned counsel, the learned Magistrate ought to have dismissed the complaint at the threshold itself, on the ground that the drawer of the cheque was not made an accused in the complaint.

6. The sum and substance of the arguments advanced by the learned counsel for the revision petitioner is that the company contemplated under Section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act includes the Society registered under the TCLSCSR Act as the same is an association of persons coming under Section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. Therefore, unless the society is a