2023 (2) TMI 1304 - HC - Indian Laws

Dishonour of Cheque - service of notice - whether no proceeding under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act can be initiated against a person to whom notice under section 138(b) of the N.I. Act has not been given? - HELD THAT - On a perusal of the impugned order passed by the learned JMFC and on a perusal of the evidence of Shri Kundan Kumar Singh (D.W.1)- Manager, Union Bank of India, it is revealed that the cheque (Ex.P/5) was issued against the current account No.5273010100503096 of Pushpshree Medical Store and its proprietor is Jitendra Kumar Verma. The cheque was drawn by him but the applicant instead of issuing any notice to Jitendra Kumar Verma, initiated all the proceedings including issuance of notice against Devendra Kumar Verma. As cheque in question was not issued by Jitendra Kumar Verma and it is not of his account. The learned JMFC has not committed any error in dismissing the application under Section 319 of the Cr.P.C. as giving of notice under Section 138(b) of N.I Act is the first and foremost requirement of initiating the complaint under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. Therefore, no fault is visible in the impugned order passed by the learned JMFC. This petition being devoid of merit, is hereby dismissed.

Summary

Issues involved: Application u/s 482 of Cr.P.C assailing order u/s 319 of Cr.P.C to proceed against a different accused in a complaint case u/s 13 of Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881.

The judgment pertains to a petition filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C challenging the order passed by the JMFC in a complaint case under Section 13 of the Negotiable Instrument Act. The applicant sought to proceed against a different accused, Jitendra Kumar Verma, under Section 319 of Cr.P.C. The accused, Devendra Verma, denied involvement with the cheque in question, prompting the applicant to identify Jitendra Kumar Verma as the actual account holder. The applicant contended that the JMFC erred in dismissing the application under Section 319, emphasizing that Jitendra Kumar Verma should be proceeded against. The respondent, however, argued that as no notice under Section 138(b) of the N.I. Act was given to Jitendra Verma, no cause of action existed against him to initiate proceedings under Section 138. After reviewing the evidence, the court found that the cheque was issued by Jitendra Kumar Verma, but the proceedings were initiated against Devendra Verma without issuing any notice to Jitendra Kumar Verma. The court held that the JMFC did not err in dismissing the application under Section 319, as the notice under Section 138(b) is a prerequisite for initiating a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. Consequently, the petition was dismissed for lack of merit.