G.H.ABDUL KADRI Vs. MOHAMMED IQBAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All these revision petitions are disposed of by a common order as the parties and the question to be decided are common.

(2.) The Principal District and Sessions Judge, Udupi, by his common judgment dtd. 31/8/2019 dismissed Criminal Appeals 5 to 10/2019 preferred by the petitioner herein challenging the judgment of conviction passed by Judicial Magistrate First Class ('Magistrate' for short'), Udupi, in C.C.Nos. 2013/2018, 2015/2018, 2016/2018, 2017/2018, 2018/2018 and 2019/2018. The petitioner being the accused in all these criminal cases faced prosecution for the offence under sec. 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act as the cheques issued by him for discharging his liability in connection with the loan said to have been obtained by him from the respondent were dishonoured for want of sufficient funds in his bank account.

(3.) It has been held by the Magistrate in all the cases that the petitioner did not appear before the court in spite of service of summons on him. Therefore the Magistrate, following the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Indian Bank Association and Others vs Union of India [(2014) 5 SCC 590], accepted the affidavits filed in all the cases by the respondent, dispensed with the statement of the accused under sec. 313 Cr.P.C and then proceeded to convict and sentence the petitioner in all the cases. Except referring to the judgments of the Supreme Court in Indian Bank Association, T.Vasanthakumar vs Vijayakumari [(2015) 8 SCC 378], K.Subramani vs Damodar Naidu [(2015) 1 SCC 99] and Heinz India Private Limited vs State of Uttar Pradesh [(2012) 5 SCC 443], the learned Magistrate has not discussed the facts and the evidence.