The Kerala High Court while refusing to quash the complaints under the Negotiable Instruments Act (hereinafter referred to as “NIA”) opined that if notice is issued in a different language and could not be delivered because of that, the same would not be a ground to quash the complaints. It is a matter of evidence and therefore, the Complainant would get an opportunity to prove that the notice was proper under Section 138(b) of NIA.
Brief Facts:
The Petitioners are Accused No. 1 and 2 who have filed cases under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Code (hereinafter referred to as “Cr.P.C.”) for quashing complaints under NIA. The issue pertains to whether the notice issued under Section 138(b) NIA is a proper notice or not.
Contentions of the Petitioners:
The Petitioners contended that notice as per Section 138(b) of the NIA was not served; hence, the cognizance is illegal. The main argument of the Petitioners was that Respondent No.2 (herein “Complainant”) issued notices at the wrong address; therefore, the notices were returned with the endorsement ‘no such addressee’. On the basis of notice not being served, the complaints should be dismissed.
Contentions of the Respondent No.2:
It was argued that the language used in notices and while writing the address was Malayalam, which is different from what it would have been if written in English. Therefore the notices were returned and hence, it cannot be said that there were no proper legal notices.
Observations of the Court:
The Court observed that it is a matter of evidence whether the notices were issued to the correct address; hence, the complaints cannot be quashed at this stage.
The decision of the Court:
The Kerala High Court held that the notices were in Malayalam Language and relying on several Apex Court judgments opined that whether notices were proper can only be decided once the Complainant provides sufficient evidence to prove the same. The complaints cannot be quashed without giving that due opportunity to the Complainants; therefore, the Bench dismissed the Petitions and refused to quash the complaints.
Case Title: K.P. Ramachandran Nair & Anr. V. State of Kerala & Anr.
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice A. Badharudeen
Case No.: CRL.MC No. 226 of 2022
Advocates for Petitioners: Adv. K.K. Sathish
Advocates for Respondents: Public Prosecutor Sri. G. Sudheer
Read Judgments @LatestLaws.com:
Picture Source :
