NARINDER KUMAR SABLOK Vs. ASHNIR AHUJA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner-Narinder Kumar was convicted for an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 ('the Act' for short) by the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Ambala Cantt. in a complaint filed by complainant-Ashnir Ahuja-respondent No.1 vide judgment dated 12.5.2003. Vide order dated 21.5.2003, accused was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year under Section 138 of the Act and to pay Rs. 1,25,000/- as compensation to the complainant under Section 357(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.Aggrieved by the same, petitioner preferred the appeal and the same was dismissed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Ambala vide judgment dated 5.6.2004. Hence, the present revision petition has been filed by the petitioner.

(2.) The brief facts of the case, as noticed by the Appellate Court in para 2 of its judgment, are as under :-

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner has not challenged the conviction of the petitioner under Section 138 of the Act but has submitted that the sentence qua imprisonment of the petitioner be reduced to already undergone by him. Learned counsel has further submitted that the petitioner is facing the criminal proceedings since the year 1992 and has already undergone about 4= months of actual sentence. Petitioner has been involved in number of cases by the complainant and in some cases petitioner was tried for an offence under Section 420 IPC but he has since been acquitted in those cases. Petitioner and the complainant were running a partnership firm and had suffered losses. The present litigation was an outcome of the said fact.