JUDGMENT :

Sanjeev Kumar, J.

The petitioner, an accused in the complaint filed under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1981 [‘N.I. Act’] by the respondent, is before this Court seeking exercise of inherent power vested in this Court by Section 482 Cr.P.C to quash the complaint and the consequent proceedings in case titled “Mohammad Ali vs. M/S D Meadows, Ladakh pending trial before the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kargil, Ladakh (for short ‘the trial Court’).

2. The aforesaid complaint as well as the proceedings taken therein are challenged primarily on the ground that the cheque, alleged to have been dishonored, was not issued by the petitioner in favour of the respondent for any legally enforceable debt and that the complaint has been filed just to wreck vengeance and cause harassment to the petitioner and his family members. It is averred that the dispute between the petitioner and the respondent, if any, is purely a dispute of civil nature and, therefore, the respondent can not be permitted to set the criminal law in motion to settle the civil dispute by creating fear of prosecution. Reference is also made to a civil suit for permanent prohibitory injunct