P.POONGODI Vs. N.MANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This criminal revision has been filed seeking to set aside the judgment and order dated 05.07.2012 passed in S.T.C.No.910 of 2009 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate Court No.II, Tiruppur, confirmed by the judgment and order dated 16.10.2012 passed in C.A.No.3 of 2012 on the file of the Principal Sessions Court, Tiruppur.

(2.) For the sake of convenience, the petitioner and the respondent will be referred to as accused and complainant, respectively.

(3.) It is the case of the complainant that the accused is the proprietrix of S.M.D. Chamber Bricks which is into manufacture and sale of bricks; the accused and her husband borrowed a sum of Rs.6,00,000/- on 10.04.2006 vide loan agreement (Ex-P1); the accused paid a sum of Rs.1,70,000/- towards interest and when the complainant started demanding repayment of the balance amount with interest, the accused gave a cheque (Ex-P2) dated 16.03.2009 for a sum of Rs.8,50,000/- drawn on Indian Overseas Bank, Chinnathadagam Branch; the complainant presented the said cheque on 20.03.2009 and the same was returned unpaid with the endorsement "Funds Insufficient"? vide bank's return memo (Ex-P3) dated 26.03.2009; therefore, the complainant issued a statutory demand notice (Ex-P5) dated 09.04.2009 to the accused, which was not received by the accused and hence, the same was returned unserved on 21.04.2009 vide returned postal cover (Ex-P6); since the accused did not comply with the demand, the complainant initiated a prosecution in S.T.C.No.910 of 2009 before the Judicial Magistrate No.II, Tiruppur, for the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (for brevity "the NI Act"?), against the accused.