1. The petitioner is the accused in the case C.C. No. 254 of 2015 on the file of the Court of the Judicial First Class Magistrate-XII, Thiruvananthapuram. The case is one instituted upon a complaint (Annexure-IV) filed under Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (for short the Act) pertaining to an offence punishable under Section 138 of the Act. The complaint is filed against the petitioner by the second respondent. The petitioner seeks to quash the complaint by invoking the power of this Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the Code).

2. The material averments in the complaint are the following:

The complainant and the accused are close relatives. The accused borrowed an amount of Rs. 35,00,000/- from the complainant and he signed and gave a cheque dated 15.11.2014 to the complainant. The complainant presented the cheque in the bank. It was dishonoured due to insufficient funds. The complainant received intimation from the bank regarding the dishonour of the cheque on 13.12.2014. He sent a lawyer notice to the accused on 15.12.2014 informing him of the dishonour of the cheque. The accused received the notic