S MADAN KUMAR Vs. K ARJUNAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petition is filed under Section 482 of the Code of criminal Procedure to quash the proceedings in C. C. No. 1125 of 2003 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate, Tambaram.

(2.) THE petitioner is the accused in a case under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. He filed a petition on an earlier occasion under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the same was dismissed on the ground that the case was already taken up for trial by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Tambaram. THE petitioner was given liberty to raise all the factual contentions before the learned Judicial Magistrate, tambaram during the course of trial.

(3.) IN the aforesaid case, the accused invoked the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court to quash the criminal proceedings at the first instance and the High Court rejected it on the ground that the evidence was yet to be led and that it was not desirable to interfere with the proceedings at that stage. But it is seen that thereafter in the said case, the criminal proceedings dragged on for a period of about 1-1/2 years without any progress at all and it was in those circumstances the accused made a fresh petition for the second time invoking the inherent jurisdiction of the High court. It was under those circumstances, the Hon'ble Supreme Court laid down that the second petition was maintainable under Section 451 (A) (presently section 482) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.