VETERAN COMPANY PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure filed at the instance of M/s. Veteran Company Pvt. Ltd. and anr., as petitioners seeking to quash the proceeding under Section 138 of N.I. Act initiated before the Court of the Ld. Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Tamluk alleging mainly that the case, as made out by the de facto complainant, is hit by the law of limitation as upon receipt of an intimation from the concerned bank with regard to the bouncing of the cheque in question, the complainant issued notice to the petitioner on 22-6-2001 and the said notice was received by the said petitioner in June, 2001, but suppressing the material facts, the complainant has issued a second ; notice to save the law of limitation which is not permissible under the law and that though the complainant has initiated the instant criminal proceeding by impleading the company itself and the directors of the company, yet, in the four corners of the petition of complaint, there is no clear averment for invoking the provisions of Section 141 of the N.I. Act or in other words, it has not been quite clearly spelt out in the petition of complaint that the other persons impleaded in the petition of complaint were persons in charge of and/or responsible for the day to day affairs of the company in the matter of management and affairs of the company.

(2.) The present petitioners on receipt of the summons in the aforesaid case have approached this Court seeking to quash the aforesaid proceeding on the aforesaid premises.

(3.) This prayer, however, has been seriously opposed on behalf of the de facto complainant/opposite party alleging that whether or not earlier any notice was issued in connection with this case, being not an admitted fact, it should be left open to be decided in course of trial after taking evidence in connection with this case and since the question whether or not such notice was issued will certainly be a question of fact and that could only be decided during trial on merit after taking evidence.