TARUNA BATRA Vs. SHIKHA BATRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE are four revision petitions filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ('Cr.P.C.') seeking the quashing of Complaint Case Nos. 177/2003, 178/2003, 179/2003, 180/2003 titled Smt. Shikha Batra through her Husband/Attorney v. Smt. Taruna Batra and the summoning order dated 13th November, 2003 passed by the Metropolitan Magistrate ('MM'), New Delhi summoning the petitioner for the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 ('N.I. Act'). Background facts

(2.) THE complainant Smt. Shikha Batra is the sister-in-law of the Petitioner Smt. Tarun Batra. In other words, Smt. Taruna Batra is the wife of the brother of Smt. Shikha Batra. The marriage took place on 14th April, 2000 after which the Petitioner began residing in her matrimonial home. According to the Petitioner, soon after the marriage her husband got a bank account opened in her name in Canara Bank, Janpath Branch, New Delhi and obtained her signatures on several blank cheques stating that he wanted to utilise them for business purposes. The Petitioner obliged by signing all those cheques.

(3.) ACCORDING to the Petitioner, there was matrimonial discord and this culminated in proceedings before the Crime Against Women Cell (CAW) where a compromise was arrived between the parties on 24th May, 2002. In terms of the compromise, it was agreed that the Petitioner, her husband Shri Amit Batra and the child would live on the second floor of the property No. B-135, Phase-I, Ashok Vihar, and that the in-laws will reside on the ground and first floor. However this did not improve matters, and led to a FIR being registered on 10th January, 2003 under Sections 406/498-A/506 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the husband and the in-laws. On 11th January, 2003, the husband and in-laws were arrested. It is stated that from 12th January, 2003 onwards, the Petitioner was compelled to return to her parents' house.