- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) The appellant preferred this appeal aggrieved by the judgment and order passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Criminal Miscellaneous No. M-35870 of 2010 (O&M) by which the High Court dismissed the appellant's petition for quashing the Complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (for short 'the Act') read with Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.
(3.) The brief history of the case as per the complaint is that the accused/appellant issued nine cheques on 6-7-2006 in favour of the complainant Company for Rs.8,00,000/- each, and one other cheque for Rs.9,40,780.05 in discharge of legal liability of M/s. Coventry Spring and Engineering Company Ltd. (for short 'the defaulter Company') of which the appellant was a Director. When the cheques were presented for clearance, they were dishonoured by the bank with remarks "insufficient funds" on 24-08-2006. The complainant-respondent thereafter, served legal notice dated 6-9-2006 demanding payment but the appellant-accused did not make payment. Ld. Judicial Magistrate took cognizance of the complaint and summoned the appellant-accused. On his failure to turn up before the Court, learned Magistrate proceeded under Section 299 of Criminal Procedure Code (for short 'the Code'). The appellant-accused thereafter filed a petition before the High Court under Section 482 of the Code for quashing the complaint, summoning order and subsequent criminal proceedings, which came to be dismissed by the order impugned in the present appeal.;