Gujarat High Court
Shri Sai Trading Company Through Shah ... vs Patel Yatinkumar Kantilal on 16 June, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/1544/2025 ORDER DATED: 16/06/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL) NO. 1544 of
2025
In F/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 2707 of 2025
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SHRI SAI TRADING COMPANY THROUGH SHAH PRAKASHCHANDRA
BHAVARLAL
Versus
PATEL YATINKUMAR KANTILAL & ANR.
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Appearance:
MR.DARSHAN A. DAVE(7921) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MRS NISHA M PARIKH(2397) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
MS. CHETNA SHAH, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 2
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE S.V. PINTO
Date : 16/06/2025
ORAL ORDER
1. The present application is filed by the applicant - original
complainant under Section 419 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,
2023 (hereinafter referred to as BNSS) seeking leave to appeal against the
order dated 10.12.2024 passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class
Prantij (hereinafter referred to as the learned trial Court) acquitting the
respondent - No. 1 in Criminal Case No. 148 of 2021 filed by the
applicant for the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument
Act, 1881. (hereinafter referred to as the NI Act)
1.1 The respondent No. 1 is hereinafter referred to as " the accused" as
he stood in the original case for the sake of convenience, clarity and
brevity.
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R/CR.MA/1544/2025 ORDER DATED: 16/06/2025
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2. The brief facts culled out from the memo of the present appeal as
well as the record and proceedings are as under:-
2.1 The applicant is in the wholesale business of food-grains and was
known to the respondent No. 1 and the respondent No. 1 had agreed to
sell his agricultural produce to the applicant and had demanded some
advance payment for the agricultural produce to be sold to the applicant
and the applicant had given an amount of Rs.2,00,000/- on 28.07.2017,
Rs.7,00,000/- on 18.08.2017 and Rs.1,00,000/- on 29.08.2017, which was
transferred through NEFT/RTGS in the account of the respondent No. 1.
The respondent No. 1 did not sell agricultural produce to the present
applicant and hence the applicant demanded for return of the advanced
amount, towards which, the respondent No. 1 issued cheque No. 000109
dated 03.08.2019 for Rs.10,00,000/- from his account with HDFC Bank,
Talod Branch. The said Cheque was deposited by the applicant in his
account but the same returned unpaid with the endorsement "Funds
Insufficient". The demand statutory notice was given to the respondent
No. 1 and thereafter, the parties met and an agreement deed was executed
between them, wherein, the respondent No. 1 admitted to the outstanding
amount of Rs.10,00,00/- and gave cheque No. 000218 dated 09.09.2020
from his account with HDFC Bank, Talod Branch. The agreement to that
effect was executed between the parties on 13.09.2019. The cheque was
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R/CR.MA/1544/2025 ORDER DATED: 16/06/2025
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deposited by the applicant in his account but the same returned unpaid
with the endorsement "Drawer Signature's Differ" and the demand
statutory notice was given but the respondent No. 1 did not repay the
amount within the statutory period and hence, a complaint under Section
138 of the N.I.Act was filed before the Court of Additional Chief Judicial
Magistrate, Prantij, which came to be registered as Criminal Case No.
148 of 2021.
2.2 After the respondent No. 1 was served with the summons and
appeared before the learned trial Court and his plea was recorded, the
applicant produced oral and documentary evidence and the applicant
examined himself and two other witnesses and also produced ten
documentary evidences to prove his case. The respondent No. 1 did not
produce any evidence on record and after the entire evidence of the
applicant was appreciated, the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class,
Prantij was pleased to acquit the respondent No. 1 for the offence under
Section 138 of the NI.Act by the impugned judgment and order dated
10.12.2024.
3. Heard learned advocate Mr. Dhaval A. Dave for the applicant,
learned advocate Ms. Nisha M. Parikh and learned Additional Public
Prosecutor Ms. Chetna Shah for the respondent No. 2. Perused the
judgment and order passed by the learned trial Court as well as the
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R/CR.MA/1544/2025 ORDER DATED: 16/06/2025
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judgment and order passed by the learned Sessions Court.
4. Learned advocate for the applicant submits that the applicant has a
good case on merits and the applicant has proved by oral as well as
documentary evidences that the amount was the legally enforceable due
amount from the respondent No. 1. Moreover, the amount was also
shown in the Income Tax Returns, which was produced at Exh. 78 but the
learned trial Court has not appreciated the entire evidence in proper
perspective. Learned advocate for the applicant submits that the applicant
was the legal Administrator of Sai Trading Company and was authorized
by the company, however, the learned trial Court has not considered the
same and had passed the impugned judgement and order and hence, the
application seeking leave to appeal must be granted.
5. Learned advocate Ms. Nisha M. Parikh for the respondent No. 1
and learned Additional Public Prosecutor, Ms. Chetna Shah for the
respondent-State have jointly submitted that the learned trial Court has
not appreciated the evidence in proper perspective and no interference is
required in the impugned judgment and order passed by the learned trial
Court and hence the application seeking leave to appeal must be rejected.
6. On perusal of the impugned judgment and order and the evidence
produced by the applicant on record of the learned trial Court, it appears
that the learned trial Court has not appreciated the documents in proper
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R/CR.MA/1544/2025 ORDER DATED: 16/06/2025
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perspective and hence, the application seeking leave to appeal deserves
consideration and the same is granted.
(S. V. PINTO,J)
VVM
