HASMUKHBHAI BHAILALBHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioners named as accused in Criminal Case No. 1755 of 1999 in the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate Court No. 2, Ahmedabad, approached this Court by way of this petition under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India for protection of their fundamental rights in part-III of the Constitution of India and praying that the said Criminal Case be quashed.

(2.) The facts in brief leading to filing of this petition deserves to be set out as under.

(3.) The Respondent No. 2, complainant has filed complaint against the present Petitioners as well as two others namely the Company and Chairman and Managing Director of the Company, in which the present Petitioners were working at the relevant time as Directors invoking provisions of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (for short "the Act") as the cheque bearing No. 329213 dated 23.07.1999 for Rs. 2,96,58,880/- issued by the accused in discharge of the liabilities to the complainant was returned for the reasons stated in the memo and despite there being statutory notice issued in time, the accused did not care to make the payment against the cheque and thus committed offence which warranted filing of the complaint in question.