O R D E R

The concurrent findings of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-II, Kozhikode and the Additional Sessions Court-I, Kozhikode, holding the petitioner guilty of commission of offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (for short, ‘the N.I Act’), are under challenge in this revision petition. The learned Magistrate had sentenced the petitioner to simple imprisonment for five months with a direction to pay compensation Rs.1,60,000/- under Section 357(3) Cr.P.C to the complainant. The Appellate Court upheld the conviction but modified the tenure of imprisonment to imprisonment till the rising of Court, while retaining the direction for payment of compensation as such, with a default clause of simple imprisonment for five months.

2. The case of the complainant/first respondent was that a cheque for an amount of Rs.1,60,000/- executed and issued by the petitioner towards discharge of the debt which he owed the complainant in connection with a partnership business jointly conducted by them, was dishonoured due to insufficiency of funds in the account of the petitioner, and that the petitioner did not care to make payment of the cheque amount, despite the rec