O R D E R

The order dated 08.12.2020 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-IV, Thrissur in C.M.P NO.284/2017 in S.T No.6/2016 refusing the request of the accused in the said case to send the cheque involved in that case for expert analysis of the handwriting therein, is under challenge in this petition filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C.

2. The offence alleged in the aforesaid case is under Section 138 of theNegotiable Instruments Act(for short, ‘the N.I Act’). Right from the very beginning, the petitioner/accused took up the defence that the aforesaid cheque was issued as a signed blank cheque and that it was not supported by any consideration. It is the further case of the petitioner that the complainant/first respondent had caused all the entries including the amount mentioned in that cheque, except the signature of the petitioner, and presented the same without the knowledge of the petitioner. During cross-examination, the complainant/PW1 strongly denied the above version and stated that the petitioner had made the above entries at the residence of the complainant in his presence. Now, the petitioner seeks to disprove the above statement of the complainant by analysing thro