- (1.) In the aforesaid three criminal revisions since the petitioner sought for quashing of the proceedings under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act against him on a common question of law the same are taken up for hearing together.
(2.) Heard the learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner. Perused the materials on record. It appears from the submission of the learned Advocate of the petitioner and from the averment made in the aforesaid criminal revisions, the grounds on which the impugned proceedings were challenged are as follows; (a) The cheques in question were presented for encashment long after the period of its validity. (b) There is no legally enforceable debt or liability. (c) Those cheques were kept with the complainant as security, nor made over to him towards the discharge of any legally enforceable debt or liability. (d) Suppression of material facts that the complainant company is not listed before any stock exchange. (e) One criminal case has been started for dishonour of several cheques.
(3.) So far as the first two criminal revisions are concerned, according to the case of the complainant all the five cheques were presented for encashment and same were returned unpaid due to insufficiency of fund. Therefore, the cheque was not returned because the same was presented after the expiry of its validity. Moreover, the date on which the intimation about the dishonour of cheque was received cannot be treated as to be the date of presentation of such cheques for encashment. Those are all disputed question of facts and as such cannot be gone into at this stage when the accused approached this Court for quashing of the case invoking its jurisdiction under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.;