J. MAGDALENE REJULA Vs. K. RAMESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal revision has been filed against the order passed by the learned XX Metropolitan Magistrate, Allikulam, Chennai 600003 made in Crl.M.P. No. 1619 of 2021 in C.C. No. 1738 of 2017 dtd. 20/11/2021, allowing the amendment application filed by the respondent/complainant,

(2.) The brief facts of the case is that the respondent/complainant has filed C.C. No. 1738 of 2017 against the petitioner/accused for the offence under Sec. 138 of N.I. Act in respect of dishonour of cheque bearing No. 024337 dtd. 12/9/2016 for a sum of Rs.5,00,000.00 drawn on Tamilnadu Mercantile Bank Limited, towards repayment of the loan. When the said cheque was returned by the Manager of the Tamilnadu Mercantile Bank Limited, he had issued a memorandum dtd. 17/9/2016 which was marked as Ex. P2 wherein the cheque number was mentioned as 024337. Based on the memorandum dtd. 17/9/2016, the respondent/complainant has mentioned the cheque number as 024337 in the legal notice dtd. 17/10/2016, which was marked as Ex. P3. The cheque number was given as 024337 in the complaint dtd. 16/11/2016 and also in the proof affidavit dtd. 15/12/2018. The Manager of Tamilnadu Mercantile Bank Limited, Anna Nagar Branch was examined as D.W. 2 and during the chief-examination, he has deposed that the cheque number was 054285 whereas in the memorandum dtd. 17/9/2016, the cheque number had been mentioned as 024337. Only after the deposition of D.W. 2, the respondent/complainant had come to know that the cheque number is 054285 and not 024337, as mentioned by him in the legal notice and the complaint. The respondent/complainant has stated that mentioning the cheque number wrongly as 024337 instead of 054285, is neither wilful nor wanton but only due to the reason the Manager D.W. 2 had wrongly mentioned the cheque number in his memorandum dtd. 17/9/2016 (Ex. P2) as 024337. It was further stated by the respondent/complainant that the ambiguity was due to the fact that both the numbers were given in the cheque and that the respondent/complainant had taken clue from the memorandum dtd. 17/9/2016 and he had stated the cheque number and thereby he had filed a petition seeking to permit to amend the cheque number as 054285 in paragraph 4 of the complaint and in item No. 1 of the list of the documents mentioned in the last page of the complaint.

(3.) The petitioner/accused had filed a counter stating that the cheque number is 054285 and that in the statutory notice dtd. 17/10/2016, the respondent/complainant had mentioned the cheque number as 024337 and he had also given the same number in the complaint and proof affidavit and that the amendment cannot be allowed at the stage of trial.