TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2017 (8) TMI 1688
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....ated under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act (for short "the Act"). The present opposite party No. 2 filed the private complaint against the present petitioner on 26.08.2013 alleging an offence under Section 138 of the Act with the submission that the present petitioner as accused therein had issued a cheque in his favour dated 17.07.2013 drawn on HDFC Bank, Bhubaneswar to discharge some previous liability. But the said cheque was dishonoured by the Bank due to insufficiency of funds and despite statutory notice, the accused did not make payment of the cheque amount. Learned S.D.J.M., Cuttack took cognizance of the offence and issued notice to the accused who appeared through his Counsel on 17.01.2014. On 29.01.2014 the charge wa....
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.... clarified, to the Court where it is presently pending. All other Complaints (obviously including those where the accused/respondent has not been properly served) shall be returned to the Complainant for filing in the proper Court, in consonance with our exposition of the law. If such Complaints are filed/refiled within thirty days of their return, they shall be deemed to have been filed within the time prescribed by law, unless the initial or prior filing was itself time barred." 2. The said order was challenged before the learned Sessions Judge, Cuttack in Criminal Revision No. 25 of 2015. Learned Sessions Judge analyzing the position of law held in Rupsingh Rathod's case (supra) and relying upon another decision of the Hon'ble....
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.... (2) The offence under Section 138 shall be inquired into and tried only by a Court within those local jurisdiction,- (a) if the cheque is delivered for collection through an account, the branch of the bank where the payee or holder in due course, as the case may be, maintains the account, is situated; or (b) if the cheque is presented for payment by the payee or holder in due course otherwise through an account, the branch of the drawee bank where the drawer maintains the account, is situated. Explanation - For the purposes of Clause (a), where a cheque is delivered for collection at any branch of the bank of the payee or holder in due course, then, the cheque shall be deemed to have been delivered to the bran....
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....es is pending before different Courts, upon the said fact having been brought to the notice of the Court, such Court shall transfer the case to the Court having jurisdiction under sub-section (2) of Section 142, as amended by the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015, before which the first case was filed and is pending, as if that sub-section had been in force at all material times." 4. It was observed by their Lordships that the amended Section 142(2) as quoted above, leaves no room for any doubt that with reference to an offence under Section 138 of the Act the place the cheque was delivered for collection would be determinative of the place of territorial jurisdiction. It was further observed by their Lordships as follow....