O R D E R Dated this the 23^rd day of February, 2026 The petitioner is the accused in S.T.No.976/2021 on the file of the Court of the Judicial First Class Magistrate-I, Chittur, (Trial Court), which has been filed by the 1^st respondent alleging the commission of the offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 ( for short, N.I.Act).

2. The petitioner has stated in the Criminal Miscellaneous Case that, 1^st respondent has filed a complaint against the petitioner alleging that he had borrowed Rs.1,65,000/- on the assurance of returning the amount immediately. Subsequently, the petitioner issued a cheque for the above amount by putting his signature in the presence of the complainant. The cheque on presentation to the bank, got dishonored and the present complaint has been filed. During the cross examination of the 1^st respondent ( PW1), it was brought out that PW1 does not pay income tax. Further, the entries in the cheque were not written by the petitioner. There are differences in the writings in the cheque and the petitioner’s signature. In the aforesaid circumstances, the petitioner filed an application to refer the cheque to a handwriting expert.