The Supreme Court opined that a complaint under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter referred to as “NIA”) could have been filed only after the expiry of 15 days from
the date of receipt by the Appellant, however in the present case , it was filed before the expiry of 15 days. Therefore, the cognizance taken by the Court was not legal.
Brief Facts:
A notice was sent to the Appellant alleging that the Appellant had taken a loan and furnished a cheque for repayment. However, the cheque was returned for insufficiency of funds.
A complaint was instituted by the Respondent under Section 138 of the NIA.
The Appellant was acquitted by the Trial Court but the High Court convicted the Appellant. Hence, the present appeal.
Observations of the Court:
The Appellant received the notice on 8th November 2005. The Complaint was filed before the period of 15 days was completed. It was observed that the complaint could have been
filed only after the expiry of 15 days from the date of receipt by the Appellant, however in the present case it was filed before the expiry of 15 days. Therefore, the cognizance taken by the Court was not legal.
The Top Court ruled that since the earlier complaint was not filed as per Section 142(b) of the NIA, the Respondent could file a fresh complaint.
The decision of the Court:
Accordingly, the appeal was allowed.
Case Title: Gajanand Burange v. Laxmi Chand Goyal
Coram: Hon’ble Justice Dr. Dhananjay Y Chandrachud, Hon’ble Justice A S Bopanna
Case No.: Criminal Appeal No. 1229 of 2022
Advocates for Petitioner: Adv. Mr. Parth Shekhar, Mr. Sanchit Guru, Mr. Himanshu Shekhar
Advocates for Respondent: Mr. Mishra Saurabh
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