SHARMILA RAMJI Vs. SUDHAKAR RAJACHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner Sri. Vikas M.

(2.) The petition is filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India read with Sec. 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (hereinafter referred to as "BNSS, 2023" for short), with the following prayers:

(3.) Petitioner is the complainant, who launched the prosecution for dishonour of the cheque said to have been issued by the accused, which is now pending in C.C.No.33983/2021, on the file of the XV Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate at Bengaluru. The trial was prolonged by the accused on one pretext or the other. Order sheet filed along with the petition discloses that the accused had filed an application under Sec. 145 (2) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter for brevity referred to as the "N.I. Act"), which was allowed and complainant was permitted to be cross-examined by the accused. Several opportunities were granted to the accused to cross-examine PW-1. When the matter stood for evidence of the accused, an application under Sec. 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter for brevity referred to as the "Cr.P.C."), came to be filed, to recall the complainant (PW-1) for further cross-examination. Learned Trial Judge, in paragraph 7 of his order, following the dictum of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of V.N. PATIL Vs. K. NIRANJAN KUMAR AND OTHERS, reported in (2021) 3 SUPREME COURT CASES 661, noticed that a fair opportunity is to be granted to the accused in the trial and allowed the application on payment of cost of Rs.3,000.00 payable by the accused to the petitioner.