NATWARBHAI GIRDHARBHAI PATEL Vs. JATINBHAI MAHESHBHAI MEHTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant has preferred this Appeal under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 against the Judgment and Order of acquittal dated 23rd July 2009 passed by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bharuch, in Criminal Case No.7316 of 2007 for the offences punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act, whereby the learned Magistrate has acquitted the respondent no.1-accused of the charges levelled against him.

(2.) The short facts of the prosecution case is that the respondent no.1-accused herein entered into a contract with the appellant and his relatives to send them to Australia on Work Permit Visa. It is also the case of the prosecution that pursuant to the said contract, the appellant at the first instance paid an amount of Rs.3,35,000/- and later on paid an amount of Rs.10,15,000/-. Thus, in all, the appellant paid an amount of Rs.13,50,000/- to the respondent no.1-accused. Pursuant to the said contract, the respondent no.-accused gave cheques to the appellant by way of security in the event if the respondent no.1-accused failed to send the relatives of the appellant to Australia. It is also the case of the prosecution that instead of sending the relatives of the appellant to Australia, the respondent no.1-accused send them to Africa for few weeks and stamped fake Visa on their Passports and thereby convincing them to part with their money and then brought them back to India. Therefore, a criminal complaint was filed against the respondent no.1-accused in the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bharuch, under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

(3.) Thereafter the trial was conducted before the learned Magistrate. To prove the case of the prosecution, prosecution has produced oral as well as documentary evidence. After considering the oral as well as documentary evidence, the learned Magistrate has acquitted the respondent no.1-accused from the charges alleged against him by the Judgment and Order of acquittal dated 23rd July 2009.