- (1.)The instant petition under S. 482, Cr. P.C. has been filed by the petitioner with a prayer that the criminal complaint case No. 462/94 u/Ss. 138 and 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter called as the Act) pending in the Court of learned Judicial Magistrate No. 2. Bhilwara against the petitioner may be quashed.
(2.)Heard Mr. Sachin Acharya, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Himanshu Maheshwari, for the respondent.
(3.)The facts giving rise to the present petition are that a complaint was filed by Ashok Kumar on 24-1-1994 before the trial Court alleging inter-alia that in pursuance to a family settlement, a cheque of Bhilwara Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd. was handed over by the petitioner on 1/07/1993 amounting to Rs. 50,000.00. It was further alleged that when the cheque was presented in the bank, it could not be honoured due to the instructions of stop payment. It was also averred in the complaint that the cheque was again presented in the bank on 7/12/1993, but the same was again dishonoured and a memo to this effect was received by the complainant on 7-12-1993 itself. Upon this, a notice dated 14/12/1993 was sent by the complainant to the accused-petitioner calling upon him to pay the aforesaid amount. When the accused-petitioner did not make payment as per notice of demand even after 15 days of receiving the notice, the complaint was filed.