KAMAL DEV Vs. STATE BANK OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Cr.MP(M) No.161/2020 Heard. I have gone through the contents of the application and I am satisfied that delay of 265 days in filing the revision is bonafide. As such, application is allowed and the delay in filing the revision, is condoned. The application stands disposed of. Revision be registered. Cr. Revision No._____88/2020

(2.) Challenging the judgment of conviction passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Hamirpur, H.P. in Criminal Appeal No. 14 of 2017 dtd. 29/1/2019, whereby the first Appellate Court had affirmed the judgment of conviction passed by learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hamirpur, H.P. in complaint No. 43/1/2013 dtd. 1/8/2017, under Sec. 138 read with Sec. 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter referred to as the N.I. Act), the petitioner has come up in this Court for invoking the revisionary jurisdiction under Sec. 397 read with Sec. 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

(3.) The facts of the case apposite to decide the present petition are that the accused applied for the grant of term loan in the sum of Rs.5,40,000.00 vide application dtd. 18/11/2011 for the purchase of tractor and the aforesaid loan was sanctioned in his favour. He executed various documents in favour of the complainant/Bank and undertook to repay the loan amount in 57 monthly installments, each of Rs.9474.00 with accrued interest commencing from February, 2012 and undertook to pay interest @ 15% per annum with monthly rests. The loan amount was disbursed to the accused on 23/11/2011 and account No.32947216408 was opened with the complainant. On 30/6/2013, as sum of Rs.3,34,000.00 was overdue against the accused. In order to regularize the account, the accused had issued cheque No.752021 dtd. 2/7/2013 for Rs.3,34,000.00 drawn on SBI, Hamirpur. The complainant had send the cheque for collection of amount to be credited in the aforesaid term loan account, but the same was dishonoured due to 'insufficient funds' in the account of the accused vide memo dtd. 11/7/2013. The complainant issued legal notice dtd. 22/7/2013 through registered AD to the accused demanding the payment of the cheque amount with costs of legal notice within stipulated time, but despite that the accused did not make any payment of the amount. Accordingly, aforesaid complaint was filed by the State Bank of India, through Senior Branch Manager. The Trial Court convicted the accused under Sec. 138 of the N.I. Act and sentenced him to undergo simple imprisonment for three months and ordered to pay compensation amount of Rs.3,34,000.00 under Sec. 357 (3) of Cr.P.C.