SATYEN VAIDYA
Bed Ram, S/o Sh. Murlu Ram – Appellant
Versus
Shyam Lal, S/o Sh. Jagdish Ram – Respondent
ORDER :
By way of instant petition, petitioner has sought the quashing of Complaint No.29-III/2022, titled as Shyam Lal Vs. Bed Ram, pending in the Court of learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Court No.2, Mandi, District Mandi, H.P. and also order dated 21.01.2022, passed by the said Court.
2. The precise ground on which petitioner has prayed for aforesaid relief is that the complaint filed by respondent against the petitioner under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, is without any cause of action. As per petitioner, he is under no legal liability to pay any amount to the respondent much less the amount as claimed in the complaint filed by him. Petitioner further submits that respondent has misused the signed cheque of petitioner, which was lost in the year 2014. The fact of the matter, according to petitioner, is that he has filed a complaint No. 186- III/17/14 under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, against respondent way back in 2014 as the cheques issued by respondent, in favour of petitioner, to discharge his outstanding legal liability had remained unpaid on presentation. Said complaint is still pending adjudication before learned Judicial Magistrate First
Section 482 of Cr.P.C; can be exercised only for the purpose either to protect the interest of justice or to save the abuse of process of law.
Quashing of FIR is an exception rather than an ordinary rule, and the High Court should exercise the powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C sparingly with circumspection.
It is well settled that Section 482 Cr.PC endows restrictive jurisdiction, which has to be exercised in accordance with law based upon facts scenario of each case.
Defenses regarding the issuance of a cheque and the existence of a legally enforceable debt must be raised in the trial court, not at the initial stage of proceedings.
A disputed defense regarding the misuse of a cheque in a Section 138 NI Act case constitutes a factual dispute requiring evidence and is not a valid ground for quashing criminal proceedings under S.5....
It is well settled that Section 482 Cr.PC endows restrictive jurisdiction, which has to be exercised in accordance with law based upon facts scenario of each case.
Liability for cheque issuance under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act cannot be determined at the quashing stage and requires evidentiary support.
Login now and unlock free premium legal research
Login to SupremeToday AI and access free legal analysis, AI highlights, and smart tools.
Login
now!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
Copyright © 2023 Vikas Info Solution Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved.