JUDGMENT

H.S. Madaan, J. - Briefly stated, facts of the case are that complainant Ravinder Paul son of Sh. Avinash Chander, resident of Dashmesh Nagari, Jalalabad (West), District Ferozepur had brought a complaint under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) read with Section 420 IPC against accused Ashwani Kumar son of Babu Ram, resident of Juneja Street near old Telephone Exchange, Jalalabad(West), District Ferozepur. Inter alia in the complaint, the complainant contended that on account of friendly relations between him and the accused, the latter raised a friendly loan of Rs.20,000/- from the former for his domestic needs and promised to repay the loan within short period; that in order to discharge his liability towards aforesaid debts, the accused issued cheque No.074744 dated 26.5.2007 in the sum of Rs.20,000/- drawn from his account with State Bank of India, Branch Jalalabad in favour of the complainant giving an assurance at that time that on presentation, the cheque would be encashed; the complainant accordingly presented the cheque with Oriental Bank of Commerce, Branch Jalalabad on 26.5.2007 but the cheque was dishonoured due