Indian Overseas Bank vs The State Of Jharkhand & Others
2025 Latest Caselaw 1110 Jhar

Jharkhand High Court

Indian Overseas Bank vs The State Of Jharkhand & Others on 24 July, 2025

Author: Anil Kumar Choudhary

Bench: Anil Kumar Choudhary

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
                Acq. Appeal (C) No.08 of 2024
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Indian Overseas Bank, Jamshedpur ... Appellant Versus The State of Jharkhand & Others ... Respondents

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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KUMAR CHOUDHARY

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For the Appellant : Mr. Sanjeev Kr. Sahay, Advocate For the Respondents : Mr. Vishal Kr. Trivedi, Advocate Mrs. Mohua Palit, Addl.P.P.

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Order No:-11 Dated:-24-07-2025 I.A. No.7855 of 2024 Heard the parties.

Learned counsel for the appellant submits that this interlocutory application has been filed with a prayer for grant of special leave to appeal against the judgment of acquittal passed by the learned Sessions Judge, East Singhbhum, Jamshedpur dated 06.04.2019 in Criminal Appeal No.243 of 2018 arising out of C/1 Case No.1841 of 2012 registered for the offence punishable under Section 138 of the N.I. Act. Learned counsel for the appellant next submits that as earlier the appellant filed Criminal Revision No.839 of 2019 before this Court which was heard by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court and the Co-ordinate Bench, relying upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case of Joseph Stephen & Others vs. Santhanasamy & Others reported in (2022) 13 SCC 115, opined that appeal ought to have been filed in this case and consequently, in exercise of the power under Section 401(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the petitioner was permitted to change the nomenclature of the cause title of the memo of appeal and subsequently Criminal Revision No.839 of 2019 was converted to Acquittal Appeal (C) No.08 of 2024. It is then submitted that the law was set in motion by the appellant upon complaint being filed by the complainant-appellant. The private respondents being the respondent No.2 and 3 were convicted by the learned Judicial Magistrate-1st Class, Jamshedpur by the judgment dated 31.08.2018 and sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for four months and pay Rs.2,36,000/- as compensation to the complainant-appellant but the learned Judicial Magistrate-1st Class in Criminal Appeal No.243 of 2018 illegally allowed the appeal on the ground that the complainant failed to prove the cause of action, on filing the complaint as the appellant-complainant failed to come up with any cogent evidence with regard to service of notice upon the appellant. It is further submitted that the appellant has very good ground to agitate in this appeal and unless the petitioner is granted special leave to appeal against the said order of acquittal passed by the learned Sessions Judge, the appellant will be highly prejudiced.

Considering the aforesaid facts, the appellant is accorded special leave to appeal against the impugned order of acquittal dated 06.04.2019 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, East Singhbhum, Jamshedpur in Criminal Appeal No.243 of 2018.

This interlocutory application is disposed of accordingly.

(Anil Kumar Choudhary, J.)

This appeal will be heard.

Admit.

Call for Lower Court Records.

The learned counsel for the respondent Nos.2 and 3 receive the notice of this appeal. List this appeal after receipt of the Lower Court Records.

(Anil Kumar Choudhary, J.) Saroj/