RAJNISH Vs. ANQ ENTERPRISES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned advocate for the applicant and learned advocate for the non-applicant. Perused the record and proceedings.

(2.) In this revision, the challenge is to the judgment and order dtd. 4/12/2021 passed in Criminal Appeal No.256 of 2018 by the learned Additional Sessions Judge-4, Nagpur, whereby the appeal filed by the applicant against his conviction and sentence for the offence under Sec. 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (for short, "NI Act") came to be dismissed. The learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Nagpur vide judgment and order dtd. 20/8/2018, has convicted the applicant for the offence punishable under Sec. 138 of the NI Act and awarded him substantive sentence till rising of the Court and to pay compensation of Rs.5,50,000.00 and in default of the payament of compensation to undergo simple imprisonment for five months. In this order, the parties would be referred by the nomenclature in the complaint.

(3.) The complainant was doing the business in the name and styled as 'Anq Enterprises' and dealing in the manufacturing of packaged drinking water and pet bottles. It is stated that the accused was introduced by one Sanjay Pathak to him in connection with the starting of the business of pet bottles. The accused wanted to buy a moulding machine for starting the business. The complainant had one spare blow moulding machine. He agreed to sell the said machine for Rs.5.00 lakhs to the accused on a condition that the machine would be installed in the premises of the accused at the cost of the complainant and period of one month would be the trial period the machine. The accused issued post-dated cheque dtd. 1/12/2014 bearing Cheque No.022052 for Rs.2.00 lakhs and another cheque bearing No.022051 dtd. 3/12/2014 for Rs.3.00 lakhs. Both cheques were drawn on the accounts of the accused maintained with Union Bank of India, Wadi Branch, Nagpur. The complainant presented the cheques for encashment. The cheques dishonoured on account of insufficiency of funds to honour the cheques vide cheque return memo dtd. 21/1/2015. The complainant, thereafter, issued a statutory notice on 5/2/2015 and called upon the accused to make the payment of the cheque amount within 15 days. The accused received the notice on 7/2/2015 but he failed to make the payment. He, therefore, filed the complaint.