2020 (9) TMI 216

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....falsely implicated in the present case. He further submits that respondent No. 2-complainant had borrowed a sum of Rs. 15 lacs from the petitioner and in order to discharge his above liability, he had issued a cheque bearing No. 632915 dated 09.01.2020 in fovour of the petitioner. On presentation of the cheque, the same was dishonored with the remarks "funds insufficient". Thereafter, despite issuance of a legal notice to respondent No. 2-complainant, neither the amount was returned nor any reply to the legal notice was given. This led to the filing of a complaint by the petitioner under Section 138/142 of Negotiable Instruments Act against the respondent No. 2- complainant on 10.02.2020, wherein the complainant has already been summoned by....

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....ry recently, in Vinubhai Haribhai Malaviya and Ors. Vs. The State of Gujarat and Anr., 2019 AIR (SC) 5233, the Hon'ble Supreme Court, while delineating in details the power of the Magistrate under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C., has held that such power of the Magistrate also includes the power to order a fair and proper investigation at the pre-cognizance stage and even after a charge sheet or a closure report is submitted. It was held as under:- "23. It is thus clear that the Magistrate's power under Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C. is very wide, for it is this judicial authority that must be satisfied that a proper investigation by the police takes place. To ensure that a "proper investigation" takes place in the sense of a fair and just ....

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....iscretion of the learned Magistrate who will exercise such discretion on the facts of each case and in accordance with law. The relevant extracts from the judgment would read as under:- "38. There is no good reason given by the Court in these decisions as to why a Magistrate's powers to order further investigation would suddenly cease upon process being issued, and an accused appearing before the Magistrate, while concomitantly, the power of the police to further investigate the offence continues right till the stage the trial commences. Such a view would not accord with the earlier judgments of this Court, in particular, Sakiri (supra), Samaj Parivartan Samudaya (supra), Vinay Tyagi (supra), and Hardeep Singh (supra); Hardeep Singh (....

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....d Magistrate who will exercise such discretion on the facts of each case and in accordance with law. If, for example, fresh facts come to light which would lead to inculpating or exculpating certain persons, arriving at the truth and doing substantial justice in a criminal case are more important than avoiding further delay being caused in concluding the criminal proceeding, as was held in Hasanbhai Valibhai Qureshi (supra). Therefore, to the extent that the judgments in Amrutbhai Shambubhai Patel (supra), Athul Rao (supra) and Bikash Ranjan Rout (supra) have held to the contrary, they stand overruled. Needless to add, Randhir Singh Rana v. State (Delhi Administration), (1997) 1 SCC 361 and Reeta Nag v. State of West Bengal and Ors., (2009)....