V.S. SIRPURKAR. J.

This judgment shall dispose of the two Criminal Original petitions they being Crl. O.P. Nos. 10902 of 1998 and 6369 of 1999. A reference has been made in Crl.O. No. 10902 of 1998 by the learned Judge (M. Karpagavinayagam, J.) in the following terms :

"In order to decide as to whether the complaint for the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act filed be fore the court is within time, which is the date to be taken into account ? Is it the date of presentation made before the Court or the date on which the Court took cognizance ?"

2. The said reference was necessitated on account there being a conflict between two decisions of the court, both by the learned single Judges of this court. In D. Ramamoorthy v. K. J. Duraisamy, reported in (1995) 1 Mad LW (Cri) 300, Janarthanam, J. had held that once the complaint for an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act was presented within limitation and that presentation was noted by the court, even if the complaint is returned back to the complainant by the Court and represented after the period of limitation still the complaint would be held to have been presented in time. Ad