M.Santhanamary, v. Mrs.Radha Ramesh,

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

Reserved on :

28.09.2020 Pronounced on :

09.10.2020

CORAM

THE HONOURABLE Mr.JUSTICE P.N.PRAKASH Crl.OP.No.9328 of 2018 and Crl.MP.No.4813 of 2018 and Crl.MP.No.9776 of 2019 M.Santhanamary ...

Petitioner / Accused Vs.

Radha Ramesh Represented by her Power of Attorney Mr.M.S.Ramesh ... Respondent / Complainant Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C., praying to call for the records and quash the case in C.C.No.1596 of 2016, pending before the III Fast Track Court, Saidapet, Chennai.

For Petitioner :

Mr.K.Sathyabal For Respondent :

Mr.B.Vijay

ORDER

This case was heard through video conferencing. 2.

For the sake of convenience, the parties would be referred to as the complainant and the accused. 3.1 The case of the complainant (Radha Ramesh) is that she and one Anandram Varadarajan are the absolute owners of the Flat No.401, in 'Surendra Homes', at Door No.1, Pammal Main Road, Pallavaram, Chennai - 600 043 and that the accused had approached her, sometime in the month of September 2014 for purchase of the said property, and the sale was concluded at Rs.85 lakhs. Thereafter, the complainant and her co-owner executed a sale deed in favour of the accused on 03.11.2014, and

towards the sale consideration of Rs.85 lakhs, received two demand drafts viz., 247373 & 247374, both dated 05.11.2014, for a sum of Rs.50 lakhs; and three cheques viz., Ch.No.050191 for Rs.15 lakhs; Ch.No.050192 for Rs.10 lakhs, and Ch.No.050193 for Rs.10 lakhs, all drawn on Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank, Sholinganallur Branch, by the accused. The dates in the cheques were not filled by the accused and the accused had requested the owners of the property to present the cheques only when she makes arrangement for clearance of the cheques. 3.2 Sometime in the fourth week of November 2015, the accused herself had contacted Radha Ramesh and instructed her to present the cheques bearing Nos.050191 & 050193 on 30.11.2015, and accordingly, Radha Ramesh filled the date in the cheques and presented it on 30.11.2015 for clearance.

This cheque was returned by the Bank vide Return Memo dated 01.12.2015 indicating "funds insufficient". Since the attempts made by her to approach the accused, went in vain, she issued a legal notice dated 28.12.2015, requiring the accused to pay the sum of Rs.25 lakhs and this notice was delivered to the accused on 30.12.2015.

3.3 Thereafter, Radha Ramesh, represented by her Power Agent Mr.M.S.Ramesh initiated a prosecution in C.C.No.1596 of 2016, (originally before the Judicial Magistrate No.XVII, Saidapet) which is now pending on the file of the III Fast Track Court, Saidapet, Chennai, for the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, against the accused, and to quash the said case, the accused has preferred the present criminal original petition.

4.

Heard Mr.K.Sathyabal, learned counsel appearing for the accused and Mr.B.Vijay, learned counsel appearing for the respondent.

5.

Mr.K.Sathyabal, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner/accused contended that the impugned cheques bearing Nos.050191 & 050193 was issued on 03.11.2014, but it was presented for clearance by the complainant only on 30.11.2015, which is after its validity.

6.

Per contra, Mr.B.Vijay, learned counsel appearing for the respondent/complainant contended that the impugned cheques were dated 30.11.2015, and not 03.11.2014. He further contended that while executing the sale deed on 03.11.2014, the accused gave the impugned cheques viz.,Ch. Nos.050191 & 050193, both undated, to the complainant, and that only on the instructions of the accused, the complainant has presented the impugned cheques for clearance on 30.11.2015 in Dhanalakshmi Bank,

T.Nagar Branch, Chennai, after duly filling up the date as 30.11.2015.

7.

This Court gave its anxious consideration to the rival submissions.

8.

A reading of the statutory demand notice of the complainant shows that the complainant had not suppressed the fact that the impugned cheques were handed over to her on 03.11.2014, but, as contended, it was undated cheques and the dates were filled by her, only after the accused gave clearance for presenting it.

9.

Mr.K.Sathyabal, learned counsel for the petitioner/accused took this Court through the pleadings in the connected suit between the parties to show that there are contradictions in the stand of the complainant. 10.

In the opinion of this Court, the pleadings in the connected suit cannot be gone into in a proceedings under Section 482 Cr.P.C. That apart, information called for from the trial Court shows that in C.C.No.1596 of 2016, P.W.1 was examined in chief on 11.04.2017; the accused was examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C., on 25.05.2017; the accused filed an application under Section 311 Cr.P.C., on 15.06.2017, for recalling P.W.1, which was allowed on 02.08.2017. Only thereafter, the accused had filed the present quash petition in Crl.OP.No.9328 of 2018 on 22.03.2018, and has obtained an order of stay on 03.07.2018. Thus, it is apparent that the trial has reached an advanced stage, and this was not brought to the notice of this Court by the accused in the present quash petition. It is pertinent to state here that the cheques were not returned on the ground that it was time barred, but on the ground of insufficiency of funds.

11.

In such view of the matter, disputed facts cannot be gone into in the present quash petition. This petition is devoid of merits and hence, dismissed. The petitioner is directed to appear before the trial Court and raise all the defences available to her in the manner known to law. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petitions are closed. Sd/- Assistant Registrar(CS V) //True Copy// Sub Assistant Registrar

To:

The Judge, Fast Track Court No.III, Saidapet, Chennai.

Crl.OP.No.9328 of 2018 mp[co] srg 21/10/2020