GIRDHARI PUSHKARNA Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is facing criminal charges before the court of Special Judicial Magistrate (Negotiable Instruments Act Cases) No. 1, Udaipur purported to be under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments, Act. He is said to have issued a cheque in favour of respondent Lalit Kumar Jain for a sum of Rs. 4,50,000/- on 5.7.2006. The cheque aforesaid on depositing in the bank was allegedly returned unpaid. A complaint then was filed by the respondent contending that the petitioner committed an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. During the course of trial statement of the respondent No. 2 was recorded, wherein as per the petitioner, he stated that except the signatures the other contents of the cheque concerned are in the handwriting of his son Manish Jain. An application then was filed by the peti doner as per provisions of Sections 45 and 73 of the Indian Evidence Act making a demand for getting opinion of the handwriting expert with regard to the contents of cheque other than the signatures. Suffice it to mention that the petitioner without any ambiguity is admitting that the signatures on the cheque are his own. As such, the dispute sought to be raised is with regard to the handwriting pertaining to the other contents only.

(2.) Learned trial court by order dated 21.1.2011 rejected the application on the count that on acceptance of signatures the other contents of the cheque are immaterial in present set of facts of the case. A revision petition preferred before the learned Sessions Judge, Udaipur questioning validity, correctness and propriety of the order dated 21.1.2011 also came to be rejected on 27.1.2011, hence this misc. petition under Section 482 Cr. P. C. is preferred.

(3.) The submission of counsel for the petitioner is that an opportunity should have been granted to the petitioner for adducing evidence by calling the opinion of handwriting expert. Reliance is also placed by counsel for the petitioner upon the judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of T. Nagappa v. Y. R. Murlidhar, 2008 AIR(SC) 2010