ARUN KUMAR DEY Vs. BISWAJIT GUHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner Nos. 1 and 2 along with another Bijoy Krishna Paul, the predecessor of petitioner Nos. 3, 4 & 5 filed a complaint under Sec. 138 of N.I. Act against the present respondent No.1 alleging dishonour of cheque amounting to Rs.75,00,000.00 (Rupees seventy five lakhs) issued in favour of M/s Ramthakur Bricks Company. It is also alleged that the said cheque was issued by said respondent No.1 on behalf of 'VIDA Engineering Company Ltd.'

(2.) The complaint on being transferred to the Court of learned Addl. Chief Judicial Magistrate, West Tripura, Agartala, the said Court took cognizance of offence under Sec. 138 of N.I. Act against the respondent No.1 vide order dtd. 15/6/2019 and issued summons to him fixing the next date for appearance of the said accused-respondent No.1 and also for his examination under Sec. 251 of the Code of Criminal Procedure [for short, the Code].

(3.) Later on, the respondent No.1 appeared and he was released on bail. He thereafter filed an application on 22/6/2022 praying for his discharge from the case challenging the maintainability of the proceeding on the ground that he was not a managing partner of said 'VIDA Engineering Company Ltd.', rather, he was the sole proprietor of the same and in said company there is no existence of any such partnership. He also took the plea that in the year 2013 a cheque book containing some signed cheques were lost from his office located at Belonia. Therefore, the matter was duly informed to the bank authority with a request to close the account. He also asserted that there was no relation or no correspondence, no documents exchanged between the parties and no purchase order was ever issued by him to the complainant or to their Firm to procure any brick.