Vijay Kumar vs State of Punjab - 2023 Supreme(P&H) 1966

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2023 Supreme(P&H) 1966

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
HARSH BUNGER, J.
Vijay Kumar – Petitioner
Versus
State of Punjab & Anr. – Respondent
CRM-M-9262 of 2023 (O&M)
Decided On : 21-02-2023

Advocates Appeared:
Mr. Ravi Chadda, Advocate; For the Petitioner (in both the cases).

Headnote:(A) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Section 311 - Negotiable Instruments Act - Section 138 and Section 420 - Petitioner challenged dismissal of applications for additional evidence in the context of dishonoured cheques and was denied recall of complainant for cross-examination - The applications were found to lack merit as adequate opportunity for defense had been provided - The court underscored that Section 311 cannot be invoked merely for delay or to fill gaps in a case after completion of cross-examination. (Paras 11-17)

Facts of the case:
The complaints under Section 138 were filed due to dishonoured cheques totaling Rs.80,000, which were issued as part of a settlement for a larger amount of Rs.6,80,000 between the parties, and the petitioner’s attempts to recall the complainant were deemed frivolous and aimed at delaying proceedings.

Findings of Court:
The court noted that the petitioner failed to establish how the trial would be prejudiced if the applications were not allowed, especially given the history of the case and prior opportunities for evidence.

Issues: The main issues included the legitimacy of the petitioner's claims for recalling witnesses and the timing of the applications in relation to the trial stage.

Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized that such applications must meet the criteria for just decisions and cannot be used to fill lacunae or delay the trial process unreasonably.

Result: Petitions dismissed.

Table of Content
1. background of the case involving dishonoured cheques (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5)
2. arguments for recall and additional evidence (Para 6 , 7 , 8 , 10)
3. court's evaluation of section 311 applications (Para 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16)
4. dismissal of petitions due to lack of merit (Para 17 , 18 , 19 , 20)

JUDGMENT

Harsh Bunger, J.

This order shall dispose of two petitions bearing Nos. CRM-M-9262-2023 titled as " Vijay Kumar v. State of Punjab and another" and CRM-M-9087-2023 titled as " Vijay Kumar v. State of Punjab and another", wherein, the petitioner (in both the petitions) have challenged the order(s) dated 06.01.2023 (Annexure P-4 in both petitions) dismissing the application(s) under Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, for leading additional evidence filed by him; in proceedings arising from two separate complaint(s) under Section 138 read with section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act and under Section 420 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE , filed by respondent No.2-complainant (Jagatjit Singh).

2. Shorn of unnecessary details, the brief facts of the case are that respondent No.2/complainant-Jagatjit Singh had filed various complaints under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act against petitioner-accused (Vijay Kumar) and others. However, during pendency of the said complaints, the matter was compromised between the petitioner along with other accused and the complainant for a sum of Rs.6,80,000/-, whereupon, the petitioner-accused (Vijay Kumar) made payments of Rs.80,000/- and Rs.30,000/-and in order to discharge his remaining joint legal liability, he (Vijay Kumar) along with RamitSikka, issued the following cheques :-

Sr. No.	Cheque No./Date	Amount	Drawn on
01	212593/30.05.2014	Rs.80,000/-	Punjab & Sind Bank, Mota Singh Nagar Branch, Jalandhar.
02	212594/30.08.2014	Rs.80,000/-	-do-
03	212595/28.02.2015	Rs.80,000/-	-do-
04	000006/30.11.2014	Rs.80,000/-	Bank of India, Adda Bastian Branch, Jalandhar
05	000007/30.05.2015	Rs.80,000/-	-do-
06	000008/30.08.2015	Rs.80,000/-	-do-
07	000009/30.11.2015	Rs.90,000/-	-do-

3. CRM-M-9262-2023 is in respect of Cheque No.212594 dated 30.08.2014, for a sum of Rs.80,000/-, and CRM-M-9087-2023 is in respect of Cheque No.212593 dated 30.05.2014, for a sum of Rs.80,000/-, both drawn on Punjab and Sind Bank, Mota Singh Nagar, Jalandhar.

4. A perusal of the complaint would show that the afore-stated cheques were presented for encashment by respondent No.2-complainant through his banker; however, the same were dishonoured vide Memo dated 07.08.2014(in respect of Cheque No.212593 dated 30.05.2014) and Memo dated 22.09.2014 (in respect of Cheque No.212594 dated 30.08.2014). Thereafter, separate legal notices in respect of the afore-mentioned two cheques were sent and since the payments were not made; accordingly, the complaints under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act were filed before the Court below.

5. It is worth noticing that said two complaints i.e. complaint bearing No.NACT/34175/2014 (in respect of Cheque No.212594 dated 30.08.2014) and complaint bearing No.NACT/29404/2014(in respect of Cheque No.212593 dated 30.05.2014) were filed way back in the year, 2014.

6. Perusal of the paper books would reveal that the cases were fixed for arguments when the petitioner-accused filed applications under Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in both the complaints), for recalling respondent No.2-complainant for cross-examination on important facts/circumstances/earlier litigation, which was stated to be necessary for adjudication of the complaints and further for examining witness from the judicial record room along with documents produced during earlier proceedings.

7. Perusal of the applications under Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Annexure P-2) would reveal that the only ground for leading additional evidence is as stated in para No.9 of the