PUTTASWAMY Vs. G. SRINIVASA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petitioner as the accused was tried by the Court of the learned XIII Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Bangalore, (hereinafter for brevity referred to as the "Trial Court"), in C.C.No.20691/2008 for the offence punishable under Sec. 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter for brevity referred to as the "N.I. Act") and was convicted for the said offence by its judgment of conviction and order on sentence dtd. 21/9/2010. Aggrieved by the same, the accused preferred a Criminal Appeal in the Court of the learned District and Sessions and Fast Track Court-IV, Bangalore City, (hereinafter for brevity referred to as the "Sessions Judge's Court") in Criminal Appeal No.784/2010. The appeal was contested by the respondent who was the complainant in the Trial Court. The Sessions Judge's Court in its order dtd. 15/2/2011 dismissed the appeal, confirming the judgment of conviction and order on sentence passed by the Trial Court dtd. 21/9/2010 in C.C.No.20691/2008. Aggrieved by the said order, the accused has preferred this revision petition.

(2.) The summary of the case of the complainant is that, the accused and himself were good friends and known to each other for the past fifteen years. During the second week of March 2008, the accused approached him seeking for a financial assistance of a sum of Rs. l,75,000/-, promising to repay the same within three months. At his request, the complainant gave him a hand loan of a sum of Rs. l,75,000/- in the third week of March 2008 by way of cash. Towards the repayment of the loan amount, the accused issued a posted dated cheque bearing No.259099 dtd. 25/6/2008 drawn in favour of the complainant on the Bank of India, Basaveshwara Nagar Branch, Bangalore, for a sum of Rs. l,75,000/-. After the due date of the cheque for presentation arrived, the complainant, at the instruction of the accused, presented the said cheque for its realisation only to get a banker's endorsement that, the account of the drawer was closed. Thereafter, the complainant issued a legal notice to the accused, demanding the cheque amount. Since the accused neither replied to the said notice nor met the demand made in the notice, the complainant was constrained to institute a criminal case against him for the offence punishable under Sec. 138 of N.I. Act.

(3.) The accused appeared through his counsel and contested the matter.