K GOVINDARAJ Vs. SUBBIAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner was arrayed as an accused in a private complaint filed for the alleged offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, and he failed to appear before the Court during trial. Hence, he has been declared as 'proclaimed offender' and his property was attached by the trial Court vide order dated 16.06.2004 in C.C.No.362 of 2003. While so, later the petitioner was arrested and remanded to judicial custody. It appears that the said cheque bounced case has been transferred from the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate, Thiruthuraipoondi to the file of the learned District Munsif-cum-Judicial Magistrate, Vedaranyam and re-numbered as C.C.No.834 of 2008.

(2.) On 08.12.2012, the complaint was dismissed as withdrawn in Crl.M.P.No.694 of 2012. Under such circumstances, the attachment of the property, pursuant to the proclamation was not made known to the petitioner for long time, till he applied for encumbrance certificate from the third respondent, the Sub-Registrar, Vedaranyam. Having come to know about the attachment in the case, which has already been ended in dismissal, the petitioner has filed Crl.M.P.No.3973 of 2016, to lift the attachment and intimate the same to the third respondent herein.

(3.) The learned District Munsif-cum-Judicial Magistrate, Vedaranyam, has dismissed the application on the ground that any attachment made under Section 83 of Cr.P.C, ought to have been raised or cancelled, within a period of 2 years, failing which the attachment made cannot be lifted. In support of the said finding, the learned District Munsif-cum-Judicial Magistrate has relied upon two Judgments rendered by the Hon'ble High Court of Kerala, the cases of M.C.Babu Vs. State of Kerala dated 01.07.2011 in Crl.M.C.No.1106 of 2011 and Moideen Vs. The Sub Inspector of Police dated 13.08.2010 in Crl.Rev.Pet.No.1015 of 2004 (B).