1. This miscellaneous criminal case has been instituted on an application under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure filed on behalf of the accused-applicant Gurpreet Singh and is directed against order dated 29.3.2010 passed by the Court of Second Additional Sessions Judge, Seoni, in Criminal Revision No.64/2009 affirming the order dated 8.5.2009 framing the charge against the applicant/accused Gurpreet Singh under sections 467, 468 and 420 read with section 511 of the IPC in Criminal Case No.4642/2006 by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Seoni.

2. The facts giving rise to this criminal revision may briefly be summarized as hereunder: Complainant/respondent No. 2 Gurmeet Singh lodged a written report in P.S. Bandol, District Seoni on 11.2.2006 stating that at around 10:00 a.m. on 10.2.2006, he was traveling on motorcycle from his petrol pump, at village Aloniya to Seoni. Somewhere along the way, he dropped his leather bag containing many important documents including a cheque-book and a passbook of Allahabad Bank, Amarpatan, District Satna. On the same day, he issued a “stop payment” instruction to the Branch Manager of Central Bank of India, Branch Dungariya, Chapara, stating that he had lost cheque number 609636; therefore, the payment of cheque be stopped; whenever it is presented for encashment.

3. About eight months thereafter, on 12.10.2006 he received an intimation from the Branch Manager of Dungriya, Chhapara branch of the Central Bank of India that the cheque number 609636, which was reported to be lost from the possession of complainant Gurmeet Singh, was presented for encashment in Amarpatan Branch of Allahabad Bank on 9.10.2006. It was drawn in favour of the accused-applicant Gurpreet Singh dated 2.8.2006 in the sum of Rs.5,80,000/-. The Central Bank Of India Dungeriya Branch, did not encash the cheque and returned it to the Amarpatan Branch of Allahabad Bank with a note that the drawer had stopped payment of the cheque. Thereafter, complainant/respondent No.2 Gurmeet Singh lodged First Information Report against the applicant-accused Gurpreet Singh under sections 420, 467, 468 and 403 of the IPC on 8.11.2006 alleging that applicant-accused Gurpreet Singh had misused the blank signed cheque lost by the complainant on 10.2.2006 and had filled it in his favour and had writen a sum of Rs.5,80,000/- thereon and submitted it for encashment in Amarpatan Branch of Allahabad Bank. Thus, with a view to cheat the complainant, he had forged a valuable security. During investigation, the disputed cheque and other disputed documents were sent along with the standard signatures and writings of the accused-applicant Gurpreet Singh to the State Examiner of Questioned Document for comparison. As per the report, the cheque and the pay-in-slip were in the handwriting of the applicant-accused Gurpreet Singh. Consequently, a charge-sheet under sections 420, 468 and 403 of the IPC was filed in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Seoni, who framed charges under sections 467, 468, 420 read with section 511 of the IPC against the accused/applicant by order dated 8.5.2009. The order framing charge was challenged before learned Additional Sessions Judge, Seoni, who affirmed the charges by impugned order dated 29.3.2010.

4. The impugned order has been challenged in these proceedings under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure mainly on the grounds that in his written report dated 11.2.2006, lodged immediately after alleged loss of cheque book, it was mentioned by the complainant-respondent No.2 Gurmeet Singh that the cheque book which was lost, belonged to Amarpatan Branch of Allahabad Bank, whereas the cheque in respect of which the offence is said to have been committed was drawn on Dugeriya Chhapara Branch of Central Bank of India. Applicant/ accused is cousin of the complainant. It is highly unlikely that a cheque-book randomly lost on the highway, would fall in the hands of the cousin of the person who lost it. As pe