2024 (12) TMI 1 - HC - Indian Laws

Dishonour of Cheque - application filed u/s 482 of CrPC for quashing complaint under Section 138 of NI Act - HELD THAT - Admittedly, the petitioner has issued two numbers of post-dated Cheques bearing No. 622623 and 622624 for an amount of Rs. 93,00,000/- and Rs. 1,54,00,000/- respectively. The parties have entered into an agreement with certain stipulations/terms and conditions. The terms and conditions of the Deed of Undertaking duly executed between the petitioner and the respondent provides that the petitioner will clear the GST, amounting to Rs. 9,63,00,000/-in respect of the firm-M/s Kurung Kumey Enterprises for execution of the work. An amount of Rs. 9,63,00,000/-, of which 10% GST amount will be Rs. 33,00,000/- shall be paid by the petitioner to the respondent. If the GST of 2% is reflected by the Department of Municipal Corporation, the amount to be paid by the petitioner will be Rs. 1,54,00,000/- to the respondent. Perusal of the Deed of Undertaking goes to show that the two Cheques have been issued as post-dated for an amount of Rs. 93,00,000/- and Rs. 1,54,00,000/- to the respondent on fulfillment of certain conditions. Having considered the said stipulation, it is afraid that such an stipulation could be a valid stipulation insofar as the issuance of Cheques are concerned. This Court finds no ground to quash the proceedings of C.R. No. 100/2022 and taking cognizance by the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Yupia, as if at all, the issues/grounds that have been raised appears to be a matter of trial before the competent Court. It is not inclined to invoke the inherent power of this Court for quashing of the proceedings in the instant case - The criminal petition is rejected and stands dismissed.

Summary

Issues:
Application under Section 482 of CrPC for quashing complaint under Section 138 of NI Act.

Analysis:
The judgment pertains to an application filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, seeking to quash a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. The case involves a dispute between a petitioner, a contractor, and a respondent, a firm, regarding a contract work for infrastructure development in a city. The petitioner executed the work on behalf of the respondent's firm and was supposed to deposit GST incurred in respect of bills raised during the contract work from the respondent's GST account. However, due to the respondent's GST account being blocked, the petitioner paid an amount to clear the arrear dues. Subsequently, disagreements arose between the parties regarding the payment of GST, leading to the issuance of post-dated cheques by the petitioner to the respondent.

The respondent issued a legal notice after one of the post-dated cheques was dishonored due to insufficient funds. The respondent then filed a complaint under Section 138 of the NI Act, which was taken cognizance of by the trial court. The petitioner contended that the complaint did not disclose any offense as the cheques were post-dated and subject to certain conditions mentioned in the agreement between the parties. The respondent argued that the dishonor of the cheque constituted an offense under Section 138 of the NI Act.

The court analyzed the terms of the agreement between the parties, which included provisions for payment of GST and issuance of post-dated cheques. The court noted that the stipulations in the agreement regarding the cheques were valid. After considering the submissions of both parties and the materials on record, the court found no grounds to quash the proceedings initiated by the trial court. The court held that the issues raised were a matter for trial before the competent court and declined to interfere with the proceedings.

In conclusion, the court rejected the criminal petition and dismissed it, upholding the cognizance taken by the trial court under Section 138 of the NI Act.