THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K.SURENDER
CRIMINAL PETITION No.9003 OF 2022
O R D E R:
This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short 'Cr.P.C.') seeking to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.1344 of 2019 pending on the file of the Principal Junior Civil Judge-Cum- Metropolitan Magistrate at Malkajgiri. The petitioner herein is accused in the said calendar cases. The offence alleged against him is under Section 138 of Negotiable Instrument Act.
2. Perused the record.
3. Learned Counsel for the petitioner/accused submits that there is no legally enforceable debt of the cheques in question and in fact there was a Memorandum of Understanding whereby the outstanding amount was discharged, however, the cheques in question were misused.
4. All the aforesaid grounds raised by the petitioner can be agitated before the trial Court in view of the judgment rendered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of Bhushan Kumar and another vs. State (NCT of Delhi) and another1 wherein at para 20 it was held as follows;
"20. It is inherent in Section 251 of the Code that when an accused appears before the trial court pursuant to summons issued under Section 204 of the Code in a summons trial case, it is the bounden duty of the trial court to carefully go through the allegations made in the charge-1
(2012) 5 SCC 424 KS,J 2 Crl.Petition No.9003 of 2022 sheet or complaint and consider the evidence to come to a conclusion whether or not, commission of any offence is disclosed and if the answer is in the affirmative, the Magistrate shall explain the substance to the accusation to the accused and ask him whether he pleads guilty otherwise, he is bound to discharge the accused as per Section 239 of the Code."
5. In view of the aforesaid Judgment, the petitioner can file a discharge application before the trial Court by raising all the aforesaid grounds and on such filing the concerned trial Court shall entertain the same.
6. Accordingly, the criminal petition is disposed off. No order as to costs.
Miscellaneous applications pending, if any, in this criminal petition, shall stand closed.
________________ K.SURENDER, J 05.12.2022 sus/gms