SASI POLY COLOURS Vs. LAKSHMI POLYMERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE criminal revision cases arise against the judgment passed individually in C. C. Nos. 162, 159, 160, 163 and 161 of 2002 by the Judicial Magistrate No. 1. Thanjanur, thereby passed an order of conviction and sentence against the respondents/accused for the offence under S. 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

(2.) THE respondents 2 and 3 second and third accused who are the husband and wife, are partners of the first accused firm. It is for the dishonour of the cheques issued by them the learned Magistrate has found them guilty for an offence punishable under S. 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, convicted and sentenced them to undergo. simple imprisonment till the rising of the Court and to pay a fine of Rs. 5000/- each in each case. Since the punitive provision was consummate with the gravity of the offence, the complainant has preferred these revisions.

(3.) MR. S. Shanmugavelayutham, learned counsel for the revision-petitioner submitted hat the three cheques in each of C. C. Nos. 162 and 159 of 2002 (Revision Petition nos. 1513 and 1514 of 2003) were equivalent to Rs. 15,000/- of each cheque; that in c. C. Nos. 160 and 161 of 2002 (Revision petition Nos. 1515 and 1517 of 2003) was more than Rs. 12,000/- each, and that in c. C. No. 163 of 2002 (Revision Petition no. 1560 of 2003) was equivalent to Rs. 12,000/- All the cheques were said to have been issued only by the common accused/ respondents 2 and 3, who are the husband and wife and who are the partners of first respondent-firm, in favour of the same revision petition /complainant in all the revision cases. The value of the cheques is more than 1. 40 lakhs. The grievance of the revisionpetitioner is that sentences to undergo simple imprisonment till the rising of Court with a fine of Rs. 5,000/- is totally insufficient especially, when no amount was found to have been repaid towards the dishonoured cheques.