Madras High Court has held that the presumption of innocence is a human right and in this case, when two Courts have acquitted the accused, the said presumption should not be easily dislodged and re-trial cannot be ordered.
A bench of Justice Prakash has passed the order in the case titled as M.Siva vs T.Jeyaprakash on 07.08.2019.
It is the case of the complainant that the accused borrowed a sum of Rs.20 Lakhs on 23.03.2014, towards which, he gave a post-dated cheque dated 23.04.2014 for the said amount drawn on ICICI Bank, Perundurai Road, Parry Nagar Branch, Erode. When the complainant presented the cheque, the same was returned with endorsement "Payment Stopped by Drawer". Thereafter, the complainant issued a statutory demand notice dated 06.05.2014 to the accused. Since the accused did not comply with the demand notice, the complainant initiated a prosecution. The accused was however acquitted on 07.03.2016. Challenging the acquittal, the complainant filed a Criminal Appeal which has been dismissed by the Principal Sessions Judge
Complainant approached the High Court in revision where it was observed "In Girish Kumar Suneja Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation, (2017) 14 SCC 809, the Supreme has held that the revisional jurisdiction is only an entitlement and not the right".
High Court then dismissed the reivsion by saying "That apart, under Section 401 Sub-Section 3 Cr.P.C., this Court cannot convert a finding of acquittal into one of conviction. At the most, this Court can only order re-trial. The presumption of innocence is a human right and in this case, when two Courts have acquitted the accused, the said presumption should not be easily dislodged and re-trial cannot be ordered. That apart, this Court also does not find any perversity or illegality in the orders passed by the Courts below warranting interference in the revisional jurisdiction".
Read the Order here:
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