J U D G M E N T

AHSANUDDIN AMANULLAH, J.

Heard Mr B. Ragunath, learned counsel for the appellant and Mr. S. Nagamuthu, learned senior counsel for the respondent.

2. Leave granted.

3. The present appeal arises out of the Final Judgment dated 29.01.2020 (hereinafter referred to as the “impugned judgment”), passed by the learned Single Judge of the High Court of Judicature at Madras (hereinafter referred to as the “High Court”) in Criminal Appeal No.582/ 2012, whereby the appeal filed by the appellant was dismissed and the judgment dated 20.06.2012 of the Vth Additional District and Sessions Judge, Coimbatore (hereinafter referred to as the “Appellate Court”) in Criminal Appeal No.186/2010, was upheld.

BRIEF FACTS:

4. The sole Respondent (hereinafter also referred to as the “accused”), being a subscriber of the Appellant-chitfund company (hereinafter also referred to as the “complainant”), borrowed loan amounts on several dates from the Appellant over a period of about two years which swelled to a sum of Rs.21,09,000/- (Rupees Twenty One Lakhs and Nine Thousand) including interest, after eight years. The loans were advanced in the following manner: Rs.1,50,000/- (Rupees One Lakh and Fifty Thousand) was given on 09.03.1995; Rs.6,00,000/- (Rupees Six Lakhs) on 29.12.1995; Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh) on 22.03.1995; Rs.3,00,000/- (Rupees Three Lakhs) on 11.03.1996; Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh) on 09.04.1997; and finally, Rs.2,00,000/- (Rupees Two Lakhs) on 24.04.1997. In order to partly discharge the aforesaid loan amounts, Cheque No.0150573 dated 03.02.2003 was issued by the accused for a sum of Rs.19,00,000/-

(Rupees Nineteen Lakhs) in favour of the complainant drawn on Indian Overseas Bank, District Court Extension Counter, Coimbatore. The complainant, on 04.02.2003, presented the cheque in Bank of India, Kurichi Industrial Estate Branch, Coimbatore which came to be returned on 05.02.2003 with the endorsement ‘Account Closed’. Thereafter, a statutory notice was issued by the complainant on 20.02.2003, reply to which was issued by the accused on 27.02.2003 repudiating the debt. Aggrieved, the complainant filed C.C.No.379/2003 before the Judicial Magistrate Court No.VII, Coimbatore (hereinafter referred to as the “Trial Court”) for the offence under Section 1381 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter referred to as the “N.I. Act”).

1 ‘138. Dishonour of cheque for insufficiency, etc., of funds in the account.—Where any cheque drawn by a person on an account maintained by him with a banker for payment of any amount of money to another person from out of that account for the discharge, in whole or in part, of any debt or other liability, is returned by the bank unpaid, either be- cause of the amount of money standing to the credit of that account is insufficient to honour the cheque or that it ex- ceeds the amount arranged to be paid from that account by an agreement made with that bank, such person shall be deemed to have committed an offence and shall, without prejudice to any other provision of this Act, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to twice the amount of the cheque, or with both:

Provided that nothing contained in this section shall apply unless—

(a) the cheque has been presented to the bank within a period of six months from the date on which it is drawn or within the period of its validity, whichever is earlier;

(b) the payee or the holder in due course of the cheque, as the case may be, makes a demand for the payment of the said amount of money by giving a notice in writing, to the drawer of the cheque, 69[within thirty days] of the receipt of information by him from the bank regarding the return of the cheque as unpaid; and

(c) the drawer of such cheque fails to make the payment of the said amount of money to the payee or as the case may be, to the holder in due course of the cheque within fifteen days of the receipt of the said notice.

Explanati