YESHPAL Vs. VIJAYAKUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AS against the concurrent judgment of the Courts below holding the petitioner guilty of the offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter referred as the Act), the present revision has been preferred.

(2.) THE respondent herein has preferred a private complaint under Section 200 Cr.P.C. on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate No.2, Coimbatore alleging that the petitioner herein/accused committed an offence punishable under Section 138 of the Act. According to the contents of the complaint, the petitioner/accused borrowed a sum of Rs.1,85,000/- from the respondent/complainant on 29.03.2000 promising to repay the same within three months from the said date of borrowal and thereafter on 19.07.2000 he issued a cheque in favour of the respondent/complainant for the above said sum drawn on City Union Bank, Ram Nagar Coimbatore. THE cheque was returned by the bank with the endorsement "funds insufficient" when the same was presented for encashment. Subsequent to the receipt of banker's memo informing the respondent/complainant of the said fact, a statutory notice under Section 138 of the Act was issued to the petitioner/accused. Even after receiving the said notice, the petitioner/accused failed either to send a reply or to make payment and hence the respondent/complainant was constrained to prefer the complaint for prosecuting and punishing the petitioner/accused for the said offence.

(3.) THE petitioner herein was prosecuted before the learned Magistrate No.II, Coimbatore for an offence punishable under Section 138 of the Act and at the conclusion of trial he was convicted and sentenced as indicated supra. Having unsuccessfully challenged the judgment of conviction pronounced and sentence imposed by the trial Court before the learned Additional District Judge (Fast Track Court No.II, Coimbatore) in C.A.No.352 of 2003, the petitioner/accused has come forward with this present revision.