Criminal Appeal No. 8414 of 2016 · Supreme Court of India · 2023
Case Details
Acts & Sections
Order
The batch of Criminal Petitions are filed by petitioners/accused to quash the complaints which were instituted for taking cognizance for the offences under Sections 138 and 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (for short, „the NI Act‟).
2. Brief facts of the case are that the petitioner herein has borrowed different amounts at different dates during the period from 27.07.2005 to 20.01.2006 by executing promissory note and agreeing to repay the same to the complainant or to the order of the complainant on demand together with interest @2% per month with monthly rests and the petitioner herein, who is the accused in the above said complainants, has issued different cheques towards part payments of the interest payable in the name of Miss Vidhi Mittal and the said cheques were presented for clearance before the drawee bank and the same were bounced with an endorsement “insufficient funds”. 2
3. Therefore, the drawee of the cheque was constrained to file cases to punish the petitioner/accused under Sections 138 and 142 of the NI Act. The said complaint was vociferously canvassed on the ground that no Court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under Section 138 of the NI Act except upon a complaint in writing made by the payee or, as the case may be, the holder in due course of the cheque and the GPA holder cannot file a complaint without obtaining permission from the Court.
4. Repelling the contentions raised by the counsel appearing the petitioner/accused, learned counsel respondent would contend that the GPA holder can file the complaint and he relied on the judgment of the Supreme Court in A.C.Narayanan vs. State of Maharashtra and G.Kamalakar vs. Surana Securities Pvt. Ltd.1 and M.M.T.C. Ltd. and Anr. vs. Medchel Chemicals and Pharma (P) Ltd.2 and Janki Vashdeo Bhojwani vs. Indusind Bank Ltd.3 and would submit that the GPA holder can maintain a complaint. He would also submit that the petitioner/accused has filed a batch of Criminal