Second complaint barred after acquittal: fresh prosecution on the same cause of action cannot proceed.

A second complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, based on the same transaction and parties after an earlier full trial and acquittal, was barred by Section 300 CrPC. The Court noted that evidence had already been recorded in the first complaint and the acquittal remained in force, so entertaining a fresh prosecution on the same cause of action amounted to a second trial for the same matter. The earlier view that the first complaint was premature did not justify reopening the allegations. The order directing the case to proceed was therefore unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the second complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, filed on the same cause of action after an earlier full trial and acquittal, was barred by Section 300 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and whether the order directing the case to proceed could stand.

Analysis: The petitioner had already faced trial in the earlier complaint arising out of the same transaction and the same parties, and had been acquitted after evidence was recorded. The earlier acquittal remained in force. In that backdrop, entertaining a fresh complaint on the same cause of action amounted to a second prosecution for the same matter. The earlier finding that the first complaint was premature did not justify a fresh trial against the petitioner on the same allegations once the earlier proceeding had culminated in acquittal.

Conclusion: The second complaint could not be proceeded with against the petitioner, and the impugned order directing further trial was unsustainable. The decision is in favour of the petitioner.

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