MAJID KHAN Vs. ANITA KALYAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has approached this Court challenging the legality, validity and propriety of the confirming order of the revisional Court dated 18/06/2015 in Criminal Revision No. 90/2015. The trial Court has rejected the application filed by the revisionist/accused vide order dated 09/04/2015 for transfer of criminal case No. 448/2010 to the Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Chachoda, District Guna (Shri Girraj Prasad Garg) in the light of the judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court Dashrath Rupsingh Rathod Vs. State of Maharashtra and another, 2014 9 SCC 129.

(2.) Facts necessary for disposal of this petition are to the effect that the respondent/complainant has filed a criminal complaint under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter referred to as the NI Act) on 06/07/2010 before the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Chachoda, District Guna (Shri Girraj Prasad Garg). It appears that the Chief Judicial Magistrate, District Guna vide administrative order No. Q/11 dated 19/07/2011 had transferred number of cases from the Court of Shri Girraj Prasad Garg, Judicial Magistrate, First Class to the Court of Shri Sanjay Shrivastava, Judicial Magistrate, First Class within Chachoda i.e., within the territorial limits of the District Court itself. The case in hand, i.e., criminal case No. 448/2010 (Smt. Anita Kalyan Vs. Majid Khan) was also one of those cases transferred. After registration of the complaint, the case was posted for evidence of the complainant under section 145 of the NI Act. The complainant has filed her evidence on affidavit under section 145 of NI Act and the said proceedings are at the advanced stage as contemplated under section 145 Cr.P.C.,

(3.) At this stage, the petitioner/accused has filed an application for transfer of the case to the Court of Shri Girraj Prasad Garg, Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Chachoda as the drawee bank which has dishonoured the cheque, State Bank of Indore, Branch Khumbraj is within the jurisdiction of the said Court. Therefore, in the light of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Dashrath Rupsingh Rathod , no other Court except the Court of Shri Garg is competent to decide it under section 138 of NI Act. In other words, the petitioner/accused challenges the jurisdiction of the Court seizing with the complaint at the advanced stage contemplated under section 145 of NI Act. The trial Court rejected the application with the reasoning that as per Hon'ble Supreme Court's judgment, if the complaint under section 138 NI Act filed before the Court other than the Court which exercises jurisdiction in respect of the territory where the drawee bank, dishonoured the cheque, is situated, shall transfer the case to the Court having jurisdiction in the territory where the bank is situated, if the complaint filed was at the preliminary stage, i.e., service on accused is not complete or remained unserved, etc., and not when the complaint is registered and evidence of the complainant has come on record and the matter is posted under section 145 of NI Act as specifically observed by the Hon'b'le Supreme Court in the aforesaid judgment.