RELIGARE FINVEST LIMITED Vs. SAMBATH KUMAR A

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All these three petitions under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 filed by M/s Religare Finvest Limited (hereinafter to be referred as 'the petitioner/complainant company') are proposed to be decided by this common judgment because questions of facts and law involved in them are identical.

(2.) The legal issue that is involved in these petitions is about the territorial jurisdiction of the criminal courts to entertain complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter to be referred as 'the NI Act') relating to bouncing of cheques.

(3.) The petitioner company had filed three separate complaints under Section 138 of the NI Act against the respondents/accused persons which vide impugned orders dated 19.08.2009 passed by the learned Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi have been ordered to be returned to the complainant company for want of territorial jurisdiction under Section 201 Cr.P.C. for presentation of the same before the competent court within thirty days from the date of return of the complaints. The orders impugned by the petitioner company in these petitions have been passed by the court below relying upon a recent verdict of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Harman Electronics (P) Ltd. and Anr. v. National Panasonic India Ltd., 2009 1 SCC 720.