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Issues involved: Appeal against order of acquittal in a case u/s 138 of the N.I. Act based on dishonored cheque and plea of limitation.
Details of the Judgment: Issue 1: Determination of limitation period for filing complaint The appeal was against the acquittal in a case u/s 138 of the N.I. Act due to the plea of limitation. The complainant alleged that the accused borrowed a sum and issued a cheque which was dishonored. The court below found in favor of the complainant on all points except limitation. The crucial issue was determining the correct date from which the limitation period should be calculated. The court explained that u/s 138(b) & (c) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, a notice must be issued within 15 days of receiving information about the dishonored cheque, and the complainant must wait for 15 days after the notice is received by the accused before filing a complaint u/s 142(b). The court analyzed a similar case from the Delhi High Court to establish the principles for calculating the limitation period based on the date of the postman taking the envelope. In this case, the date of reckoning was found to be 3.8.1998. Calculating 15 days from that date, the deadline for filing the complaint was 17.8.1998, and within 30 days from that date, the complaint should have been filed by 16.9.1998. However, the complaint was filed on 18.9.1998, which was beyond the statutory period, leading to the dismissal of the appeal on grounds of limitation. Conclusion: The court upheld the decision of the trial court, dismissing the appeal as the complaint was not filed within the statutory period, despite a slight difference of one or two days, rendering the prosecution invalid.
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