DINESH CHANDRA SHIB Vs. HIRALAL SAHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH these petitions have been filed by the petitioner under Section 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, read with Article 227 of the Constitution of India, challenging the maintainability of complaint cases being C. R. Case No. 2841/2006 and C. R. Case No. 2842/2006, filed by the respondent which are pending before the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Court No. 5, Agartala, Tripura. Similar facts and questions of law are involved in these two petitions and as such, for the sake of convenience, heard together for disposal.

(2.) THE details of the facts are not necessary to be narrated, however, for consideration of the question of law involved, it may be stated that both the petitioner and the respondent are businessman. The petitioner Sri Dinesh Chandra Shib is a resident of West Bank Jagannath Dighi under Police Station R. K. Pur in South Tripura District while the respondent Sri Hiralal Saha is a resident of Netaji Subhash Road under Police Station West Agartala in West Tripura District. The petitioner sometime in the year 2002 approached the respondent to provide monetary advance as loan with assurance to return within the year 2003. The respondent provided the loan amount to the petitioner on different dates through cheques but he (petitioner) failed to return/repay the amount in time and the respondent demanded repayment of the same. A meeting was held for amicable settlement of the matter on 20. 06. 2005 at R. K. Pur, South Agartala and an agreement was entered into by the parties but the petitioner failed to comply with the terms and conditions embodied in the agreement. The petitioner made part payment of the loan amount by issuing cheques in favour of the respondent to be drawn on Tripura Gramin Bank at Udaipur Branch. The respondent submitted the cheques with his Banker, namely, Union Bank of India, Agartala Branch, for encashment but the same were dishonoured whereupon the respondent served a statutory demand notice upon the petitioner requesting him to make arrangement for payment of the loan amount within 15 days from the date of receipt of the demand notice but the petitioner failed to make payment of the loan amount. The respondent had to file the aforesaid complaint petitions in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, West Tripura, Agartala. Summons were issued upon the petitioner and on receipt of the same, he appeared before the court and obtained bail orders. Thereafter, the petitioner filed an application before the concerned Magistrate on 03. 03. 2008 challenging the maintainability of the aforesaid cases mainly on the ground of lack of jurisdiction of the trial Court to try the aforesaid criminal cases. The said applications were heard and rejected by the trial Court vide orders dated 07. 11. 2008. The petitioner is now before this Court for quashing the proceedings of C. R. Cases No. 2841/2006 and 2842/2006.

(3.) HEARD Mr. B. N. Majumder, learned counsel for the petitioners. Mr. Majumder, learned counsel, submits that the aforesaid criminal proceedings are not maintainable in the Court of Judicial Magistrate at Agartala within the Sessions Division of West Tripura District on the following grounds: