{"id":180637,"date":"2003-02-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2003-02-06T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/yogendra-bhagatram-sachdev-vs-the-state-of-maharashtra-and-shri-on-7-february-2003"},"modified":"2018-11-29T05:25:45","modified_gmt":"2018-11-28T23:55:45","slug":"yogendra-bhagatram-sachdev-vs-the-state-of-maharashtra-and-shri-on-7-february-2003","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/yogendra-bhagatram-sachdev-vs-the-state-of-maharashtra-and-shri-on-7-february-2003","title":{"rendered":"Yogendra Bhagatram Sachdev vs The State Of Maharashtra And Shri &#8230; on 7 February, 2003"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Bombay High Court<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">Yogendra Bhagatram Sachdev vs The State Of Maharashtra And Shri &#8230; on 7 February, 2003<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_citations\">Equivalent citations: 2003 (2) ALD Cri 21, III (2003) BC 158, 2003 BomCR Cri<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: A Aguiar<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: A Aguiar<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<pre><\/pre>\n<p>JUDGMENT<\/p>\n<p>A.S. Aguiar, J.<\/p>\n<p> 1. By this application, presumably under Section<br \/>\n482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the<br \/>\napplicant seeks to invoke the exercise of powers<br \/>\nvested in this Court Ex Debito Justitiae to prevent<br \/>\napprehended abuse of the procedural law and<br \/>\nmiscarriage of justice from taking place. The<br \/>\napprehension arises allegedly on account of the order<br \/>\npassed by the Sessions Court, Bombay, rejecting<br \/>\nMiscellaneous Application No. 376 of 2000 under<br \/>\nSection 391 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.<br \/>\nThe appellant sought to examine himself on oath in<br \/>\norder to enable him to discharge the burden to rebut<br \/>\nthe presumption of law under Sections 138 and 139 of<br \/>\nthe Negotiable Instruments Act. The said<br \/>\nMiscellaneous Application No. 376 of 2000 is filed in<br \/>\nCriminal Appeal No. 330 of 2001 from the order dated<br \/>\n26.11.2002 passed by the leaned Metropolitan<br \/>\nMagistrate, 28th Court, Esplanade, in C.C. No.<br \/>\n1173\/S\/95 convicting the Appellant &#8211; accused Yogendra<br \/>\nBhagatram Sachdev under Section 138 of the Negotiable<br \/>\nInstruments Act and sentencing him to suffer rigorous<br \/>\nImprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs.<br \/>\n5,000\/=, in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment<br \/>\nfor three months with a further direction to the<br \/>\naccused to pay an amount of Rs. 1,00,00,000\/= as<br \/>\ncompensation to the complainant.\n<\/p>\n<p>2. The appeal was filed and was admitted on<br \/>\n21.12.2001. At the stage when the appeal has become<br \/>\nripe for hearing, the applicant-accused files the said<br \/>\napplication under Section 391 of the Code of Criminal<br \/>\nProcedure, praying that the appellant be allowed to<br \/>\nlead cogent evidence which is on record by way of<br \/>\ndocuments, but not by of oral (SIC) and that the<br \/>\nsaid Court, that is to say, the Sessions Court either<br \/>\ntake his evidence itself of direct it to be taken by<br \/>\nthe learned Magistrate subject to Chapter XXIII, as if<br \/>\nit was an enquiry. The said application, as stated<br \/>\nabove, has been rejected by judgment and order dated<br \/>\n21.11.2002 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge,<br \/>\nGreater Bombay.\n<\/p>\n<p>3. To appreciate the issues in controversy, it is<br \/>\nnecessary to give the brief facts of the case.\n<\/p>\n<p>The applicant and respondent No. 2 were both<br \/>\ndirectors of Reliance Silicon, situated at Navi<br \/>\nMumbai. Differences arose between the complainant and<br \/>\nthe applicant-accused. An amicable settlement was<br \/>\narrived at between the parties to the effect that the<br \/>\ncomplainant shall transfer his shares to the accused<br \/>\nand resigns from the company and, in consideration<br \/>\ntherefore, he should be paid Rs. 50,00,000\/= by the<br \/>\naccused. Pursuant to the said understanding, blank<br \/>\nshare transfer application forms were signed by the<br \/>\ncomplainant and handed over to one Shri. Sanghvi, who<br \/>\nacted as intervener, and ten cheques of Rs.<br \/>\n5,00,000\/= each were handed over by the accused to<br \/>\nShri. Sanghavi, who handed over the said cheques to<br \/>\nthe complainant as per the understanding. The<br \/>\ncomplainant, that is, respondent No. 2 deposited the<br \/>\ncheques with his bankers. However, the said cheques<br \/>\nwere dishonoured. After compliance of necessary<br \/>\nformalities, namely, serving demand notice, etc., a<br \/>\ncomplaint came to be filed before the Court of the<br \/>\nlearned Magistrate and numbered as Criminal Case No.<br \/>\n11\/0\/S\/1998.\n<\/p>\n<p>4. The contention of the applicant-accused is<br \/>\nthat there was no consideration for the issue or<br \/>\ncheques and hence there was no legally enforceable<br \/>\ndebt or liability entitling respondent No. 2 to encash<br \/>\nthe cheques.\n<\/p>\n<p>5. In support of his case, the complainant<br \/>\nexamined himself as P.W. 1 and one bank officer Mr.<br \/>\nManoj Anant Patil as P.W. 2 and the intervener friend<br \/>\nShri. Sanghvi was examined as P.W. 3. The applicant\n<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; accused did not adduce any evidence. He, however,<br \/>\nproduced four documents which were taken on record by<br \/>\nconsent and marked as Exhibits D-1 to D-4. These<br \/>\nletters were produced in order to show that the shares<br \/>\nof the company were in the custody of financial<br \/>\ninstitutions which had advanced financial assistance<br \/>\nto the company of which accused and the complainant<br \/>\nwere directors.\n<\/p>\n<p>6. It is pertinent to note that in his statement<br \/>\nrecorded under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal<br \/>\nProcedure, 1973, the accused had accepted that he had<br \/>\ngiven ten cheques of Rs. 5,00,000\/= each to Shri.<br \/>\nSanghvi to be given to the complainant. At the end of<br \/>\nrecording his statement under Section 313 of the Code<br \/>\nof Criminal Procedure, 1973 when he was asked whether<br \/>\nhe wanted to lead any evidence by entering the witness<br \/>\nbox, the Applicant declined the offer.\n<\/p>\n<p>7. The defence of the applicant-accused is that<br \/>\nhe was obliged to pay Rs. 50,00,000\/= to the<br \/>\ncomplainant only on transfer of the shares of the<br \/>\napplicant in his name and since that transfer had not<br \/>\ntaken place, he was not liable to pay the amount<br \/>\nstated in the cheques and that, since the shares had<br \/>\nnot been transferred in his name, he had instructed<br \/>\nhis banker not to make payment.\n<\/p>\n<p>8. By judgment and order dated 26.11.2001, the<br \/>\napplicant was convicted and sentenced by the trial<br \/>\nCourt. The same is impugned by the applicant filing<br \/>\nCriminal Appeal No. 330 of 2001 which was admitted on<br \/>\n21.12.2001. On 3.9.2002, the Criminal Application No.<br \/>\n376 of 2002 to alow the Applicant to examine himself<br \/>\nand leave evidence, came to be rejected by the Sessions<br \/>\nCourt by the impugned order dated 21.11.2002. It is<br \/>\nthis order which is the subject-matter of challenge in<br \/>\nthe present criminal application.\n<\/p>\n<p>9. Learned Counsel Shri. Desai appearing on<br \/>\nbehalf of the applicant\/accused has pointed out that<br \/>\nthe learned Additional Sessions Judge has declined to<br \/>\nexercise power under Section 391 of the Code of<br \/>\nCriminal Procedure, 1973 on two grounds; firstly, that<br \/>\nthere is no change in the law regarding discharge of<br \/>\nburden of proof under Section 139 of the Negotiable<br \/>\nInstruments Act after the judgment of conviction, and<br \/>\nsecondly, that if such application were allowed, it<br \/>\nwould open the floodgates leading to a spate of<br \/>\napplications seeking to avoid conviction by applying<br \/>\nto the Appeal Court to allow the accused to lead<br \/>\nevidence in the appeal. It is contended that the<br \/>\nlearned Judge in his order dated 21.11.2002 has not<br \/>\ndetermined the question whether additional evidence<br \/>\nwas necessary as required under Section 397 of the<br \/>\nCode of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for determination of<br \/>\ntruth and to subserve the ends of justice.\n<\/p>\n<p>10. It is submitted that the scope and ambit of<br \/>\nSection 391 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973<br \/>\nhas been enunciated in several decisions of various<br \/>\nHigh Courts as well as the Supreme Court. A Division<br \/>\nBench of the Allahabad High Court in the case of State<br \/>\nv. Jaiprakash, ; while<br \/>\ndealing with the erstwhile provisions of Section 428<br \/>\nof the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 has observed<br \/>\nas follows:\n<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;2. The section forms an exception to the<br \/>\ngeneral rule that an appeal must be decided on<br \/>\nthe evidence which was before the trial Court.\n<\/p>\n<p>Its manifest object is the prevention<br \/>\nof a guilty man&#8217;s escape through same careless<br \/>\nor ignorant proceedings of a trial Court or<br \/>\nthe vindication of an innocent person wrongly<br \/>\naccused where the trial Court through some<br \/>\ncarelessness or ignorance has omitted to<br \/>\nrecord the evidence of the circumstances<br \/>\nessential to the elucidation of the truth.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>11. A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in<br \/>\nthe case of Ulkha Kolhe v. State, A.I.R. 1963 S.C.<br \/>\n1831; while dealing with the erstwhile provisions<br \/>\nobserved as follows:\n<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;11. If the Sessions Judge thought that in<br \/>\nthe interest of justice and for a just and<br \/>\nproper decision of the case it was necessary<br \/>\nthat additional evidence should be brought on<br \/>\nthe record he should have, instead of<br \/>\ndirecting a retiral and reopening the entire<br \/>\nproceeding, resorted to the procedure<br \/>\nprescribed by Section 428(1) of the Code of<br \/>\nCriminal Procedure. There is no doubt that if<br \/>\nthe ends of justice require, the appellant<br \/>\nCourt should exercise its power under the said<br \/>\nsection.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;12. An opportunity to lead this evidence<br \/>\nmay be given under Section 428, not with a view to<br \/>\nfill up lacunae in the evidence but to<br \/>\nregularize the trial of the accused and to<br \/>\nensure that the case is establishment against<br \/>\nhim beyond reasonable doubt, more so when for<br \/>\nthe purpose of convicting the accused reliance<br \/>\nis sought to be placed upon a presumption<br \/>\narising from the report of a Chemical<br \/>\nExaminer, who is not examined before the<br \/>\nCourt, and which substantially raises a<br \/>\npresumption of guilt.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>12. It is submitted that the aforesaid<br \/>\nobservations of the Supreme Court are extremely<br \/>\nrelevant in the present context since, in this case,<br \/>\nreliance is placed on the presumption under Section<br \/>\n139 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. However, since<br \/>\nthe prosecution is relying on this presumption, the<br \/>\naccused is the best person to discharge the burden of<br \/>\nproof under Section 139 of the Negotiable Instruments<br \/>\nAct to rebut this presumption, since he would have<br \/>\npersonal knowledge of the transactions with the<br \/>\ncomplainant. It is contended that an opportunity<br \/>\nmust, therefore, be given to the accused to lead his<br \/>\nevidence to ensure that he discharges the burden of<br \/>\nproof cast on him specially since reliance is sought<br \/>\nto be placed on this presumption for convicting the<br \/>\naccused under Section 139 of the Negotiable<br \/>\nInstruments Act.\n<\/p>\n<p>13. Reliance is also placed on the decision of the<br \/>\nSupreme court in the case of Rambhau v. State, , which sets out the scope of Section<br \/>\n391 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, as<br \/>\nfollows:\n<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;2. A word of caution, however, ought to<br \/>\nbe introduced for guidance, to wit; that this<br \/>\nadditional evidence cannot and ought not to be<br \/>\nreceived in such a way as to cause any<br \/>\nprejudice to the accused. This Court was<br \/>\ncandid enough to record, however, that it is<br \/>\nthe concept of justice which ought to prevail<br \/>\nand in the event the same dictates exercise of<br \/>\npower as conferred by the Code, there ought<br \/>\nnot to be any hesitation in that regard.\n<\/p>\n<p>3. Be it noted that no set of principles<br \/>\ncan be set forth for such an exercise of power<br \/>\nunder Section 391 since the same is dependant<br \/>\nupon the fact-situation of the matter and<br \/>\nhaving due regard to the concept of fairplay<br \/>\nand justice, well-being of the society.\n<\/p>\n<p>Incidentally, Section 391 forms an<br \/>\nexception to the general rule that an Appeal<br \/>\nmust be decided on the evidence which was<br \/>\nbefore the Trial Court and the powers being an<br \/>\nexception shall always have to be exercised<br \/>\nwith caution and circumspection so as to meet<br \/>\nthe ends of justice. It is not to fill up the<br \/>\nlacuna but to subserve the ends of justice.<br \/>\nNeedless to record that on an analysis of the<br \/>\nCivil Procedure Code, Section 391 is thus akin<br \/>\nto Order 41, Rule 27 of the C.P. Code.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>14. It is contended that the law as set out in the<br \/>\naforesaid decisions has been settled and Section 391<br \/>\nof the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 can be invoked<br \/>\neither at the behest of the accused or the<br \/>\nprosecution, regard being had to the concept of<br \/>\njustice and fairplay. Hence the appellate Court<br \/>\nshould not hesitate to exercise the powers under<br \/>\nSection 391 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.\n<\/p>\n<p>15. It is further contended that the impugned<br \/>\norder does not address this issue at all and the<br \/>\nSessions Court has rejected the application on the<br \/>\nground that the same would open the floodgates<br \/>\nresulting in stalling of all convictions. It is<br \/>\nsubmitted that the accused is ready and willing to<br \/>\nsubject himself to cross-examination if allowed to<br \/>\nlead evidence and no prejudice will, therefore, be<br \/>\ncaused to the respondent-complainant.\n<\/p>\n<p>16. The major thrust of the application, however,<br \/>\nseems to be the perceived change in the law after the<br \/>\njudgment and order of conviction. It is submitted<br \/>\nthat the Supreme Court in Hiten Dalal&#8217;s case (2001<br \/>\nCriminal Law Journal page 4647) and in the case of <a href=\"\/doc\/1486400\/\">K.N.<br \/>\nBina v. Muniyappan<\/a> (2001 Cri. L.J. 4741) has<br \/>\nmade it obligatory upon the accused to lead evidence<br \/>\nif he desires to rebut the presumption that arises<br \/>\nunder Section 139 of the Negotiable Instruments Act<br \/>\nsince the effect of the presumption is to place the<br \/>\nevidential burden on the accused of proving that the<br \/>\ncheque was not received towards discharge of any<br \/>\nliability. The said presumption cannot be rebutted by<br \/>\nmerely relying upon documents or proving the said<br \/>\ndocuments. It is pointed out that the Supreme Court<br \/>\nin the case of Hiten Dalal&#8217;s case (2001 Criminal Law<br \/>\nJournal paged 4647) while considering the Constitution<br \/>\nBench decision in the case of D.B. Desai&#8217;s case<br \/>\nobserved as under:\n<\/p>\n<p>  &#8220;23. The words &#8230;..&#8217;unless the contrary is<br \/>\nproved&#8217; which occur in this provision make it<br \/>\nclear that the presumption has to be rebutted<br \/>\nby &#8220;proof&#8221; and not by a bare explanation which<br \/>\nis merely plausible. A fact is said to be<br \/>\nproved when its existence is directly<br \/>\nestablished or when upon the material before<br \/>\nit the court finds its existence to be so<br \/>\nprobable that a reasonable man would act on<br \/>\nthe supposition that it exists. Unless,<br \/>\ntherefore, the explanation is supported by<br \/>\nproof, the presumption created by the<br \/>\nprovisions cannot be said to be<br \/>\nrebutted&#8230;..&#8221;;\n<\/p>\n<p>17. It is pointed out that the Supreme Court in<br \/>\nthat case applied the principle to Section 139 of the<br \/>\nNegotiable Instruments Act for the first time and went<br \/>\non to consider whether the accused had supported his<br \/>\ndefence contained in his 313 statement by any proof<br \/>\nsufficient to rebut the presumption. While<br \/>\napproaching the evidence, the Supreme Court in para<br \/>\n34 observed that &#8220;&#8230;..The Appellant alone could<br \/>\nhave said why he had admittedly executed the said<br \/>\ncheque, handed them over to the bank and never asked<br \/>\nfor their return. He did not chose to do so.&#8221; It is,<br \/>\ntherefore, submitted that in view of Hiten Dalal&#8217;s<br \/>\ncase (2001 Criminal Law Journal paged 4647), which<br \/>\nwas reported in the Criminal Law Journal only after<br \/>\nthe judgment of conviction, the accused is required to<br \/>\nstep into the witness box to prove his defence,<br \/>\nnamely, that there was no consideration for issue of<br \/>\nthe cheques as the shares were not transferred to him<br \/>\nas they were at the relevant time lying with the<br \/>\nfinancial institutions. The accused states that he is<br \/>\nready to offer the best evidence and corroborate his<br \/>\nexplanation contained in his statement by proof by<br \/>\nstepping into witness box. Not doing so during the<br \/>\ntrial cannot be ground for not invoking the power<br \/>\nunder Section 391 Cr.P.C. since that power is to<br \/>\nbe exercised in the context of the concept of justice<br \/>\nand fairplay and with a view to vindicate the<br \/>\ninnocence of a person wrongly accused. It is pointed<br \/>\nout that the accused did apply for examination of<br \/>\ndefence witnesses and issue of witness summons, but<br \/>\nthe learned Magistrate did not consider the said<br \/>\napplication invoking Section 294 of the Code of<br \/>\nCriminal Procedure, 1973.\n<\/p>\n<p>18. It is further pointed out that the documents<br \/>\nExhibits D-1 to D-4 suggest that some of the shares<br \/>\nwhich are the subject-matter of the transaction are in<br \/>\nthe custody of financial institutions, namely, Central<br \/>\nBank of India and Maharashtra State Financial<br \/>\nCorporation and, therefore, the shares were never in<br \/>\npossession of the accused as falsely stated by the<br \/>\ncomplainant. The applicant-accused now wants to lead<br \/>\nevidence to prove that the balance shares were also<br \/>\nnot with him. It is further submitted that in the<br \/>\ninstant case, it is the bare word of the complainant<br \/>\nin cross-examination that the physical custody of the<br \/>\nshares, which were the subject-matter of the<br \/>\ntransaction, were always with the accused. Therefore,<br \/>\nthe accused should be given an opportunity by stepping<br \/>\ninto the witness-box to prove that the bare word of<br \/>\nthe complainant is not true.\n<\/p>\n<p>19. It is submitted that the balance of<br \/>\nconvenience is also in favour of the accused since no<br \/>\nprejudice would be caused to the complainant if the<br \/>\naccused is allowed to examine himself and present the<br \/>\naforesaid facts and he would be open to<br \/>\ncross-examination by the complainant. On the other<br \/>\nhand, irreparable harm will be caused to the accused<br \/>\nif he is deprived of this opportunity as he would be<br \/>\nsent to jail on a mere technicality.\n<\/p>\n<p>20. After having given anxious consideration to<br \/>\nthe submissions of the learned advocate for the<br \/>\nApplicant\/Accused, I am afraid no case has been made<br \/>\nout for interfering with the impugned order of the<br \/>\nlearned Additional Sessions Judge by granting the<br \/>\nrelief prayed for. Dealing with the contention that<br \/>\nthe Hiten Dalal&#8217;s case and Bina&#8217;s case (supra) set<br \/>\nout a different, if not new, proposition in law which<br \/>\nwas not in existence prior to the date of conviction<br \/>\nof the accused, the learned Additional Sessions Judge<br \/>\nhas rightly rejected the said contention since there<br \/>\nis nothing new in what the Supreme Court has said in<br \/>\nthe said two decisions. The Apex Court has in the<br \/>\naforesaid decisions only reiterated the position by<br \/>\nreference to the earlier authorities which set out the<br \/>\nsame principle as to the standard of proof required.<br \/>\nThe Supreme Court has in Hiten Dalal&#8217;s case referred<br \/>\nto its decisions in the earlier cases of (i)<br \/>\n<a href=\"\/doc\/1194484\/\">Dhanvatrai Balwantrai Desai v. State of Maharashtra,<\/a><br \/>\n, (ii) V.D. Jhingan v.\n<\/p>\n<p>State of U.P., ; (iii)<br \/>\nSailendranath Bose v. State of Bihar, A.I.R. 1968 S.C.<br \/>\n1292; and (iv) in the case of <a href=\"\/doc\/974552\/\">Ramkrishna Bedu Rane<br \/>\nv. State of Maharashtra<\/a> .\n<\/p>\n<p>21. Regarding the observations of the learned<br \/>\nAdditional Sessions Judge that granting of such<br \/>\napplications would open the floodgates resulting in a<br \/>\nspate of such applications filed purely with a view to<br \/>\ndelay and or subvert the judgments of conviction<br \/>\npassed by trial Courts, it seems to me that the said<br \/>\nobservations are not without merit and the<br \/>\napprehension is justified. However, mere probability<br \/>\nor possibility of the floodgates being opened would<br \/>\nnot necessarily prevent the Court from entertaining<br \/>\nthe application under Section 391 of the Code of<br \/>\nCriminal Procedure, 1973 allowing the accused to lead<br \/>\nevidence in appeal from conviction, if it was<br \/>\nabsolutely necessary in the &#8220;fact situation&#8221; for the<br \/>\npurpose of doing justice between the parties.\n<\/p>\n<p>22. All the decisions cited by the learned advocate<br \/>\nfor the applicant are agreed that the exercise of<br \/>\npower by the Judge under Section 391 of the Code of<br \/>\nCriminal Procedure must be to meet the ends of justice<br \/>\nso that injustice is not done to the accused on<br \/>\naccount of some irregularity in the conduct of trial<br \/>\nor where the trial Court through ignorance has omitted<br \/>\nto record the evidence of circumstances essential to<br \/>\nelucidate the truth, with a caveat, that exercise of<br \/>\nsuch power should not be with a view to fillup the<br \/>\nlacunae in the evidence. Thus the Court acting under<br \/>\nSection 391 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is<br \/>\nrequired to exercise its discretion to allow the<br \/>\napplicant-accused to lead evidence by examining<br \/>\nhimself at the appeal stage with circumspection and<br \/>\ncaution and only with the object of doing justice<br \/>\nbetween the parties in the facts and circumstances of<br \/>\nthe case. However, if the purpose of the prosecution<br \/>\nor the accused to adduce evidence at the appeal stage<br \/>\nis for the purpose of filling in lacunae, then such an<br \/>\napplication must be rejected.\n<\/p>\n<p>23. In the present case it is seen that the<br \/>\napplicant-accused had not disclosed any defence prior<br \/>\nto the trial. The applicant-accused, for reason best<br \/>\nknown to him, has not sent any reply to the statutory<br \/>\nnotice of demand under Section 138 of the Negotiable<br \/>\nInstruments Act. The failure to reply to this 138<br \/>\nnotice not being explained would raise a presumption<br \/>\nthat the Accused had, in fact, no defence whatsoever.<br \/>\nAfter the prosecution was launched and the evidence on<br \/>\nbehalf of the complainant concluded and the Section<br \/>\n313 statement of the Accused recorded, the<br \/>\nApplicant-accused was offered the opportunity to lead<br \/>\nevidence by examining himself or examination of<br \/>\nwitnesses in his defence. However, he declined to do<br \/>\nso. No doubt, he had filed an application dated<br \/>\n19.5.2001 for issue of witness summons, but that<br \/>\napplication was not pressed and notice was given by<br \/>\nthe Accused to the complainant under Section 294 Code<br \/>\nof Criminal Procedure in August 2001 and the documents<br \/>\nmarked Exhibits D-1 to D-4 were taken on record by<br \/>\nconsent of the parties. Thus, at the stage of trial,<br \/>\nthe applicant-accused sought to rebut the presumption<br \/>\nonly on the basis of these four documents, which the<br \/>\nApplicant\/Accused produced at the time of recording<br \/>\nhis statement under Section 313 of the Code of<br \/>\nCriminal Procedure. In his 313 statement, the accused<br \/>\nmade it explicit that except for the production of the<br \/>\ndocuments, he did not want to examine himself or any<br \/>\ndefence witness. It is not the case of the applicant<br \/>\naccused that at the trial when he declined the offer<br \/>\nto lead evidence in his defence, he did not have the<br \/>\nbenefit of legal advice. He was represented by an<br \/>\nadvocate. It, therefore, cannot be argued that he<br \/>\ngave up a valuable legal right of examining witnesses.<br \/>\nin his defence out of ignorance of the law. The<br \/>\napplicant-accused has with full knowledge of the facts<br \/>\nand the law applicable deliberately restricted his<br \/>\ndefence to the said four documents Exhibits D-1 to D-4<br \/>\nto prove that the shares were not given to him by the<br \/>\ncomplainant and were not in his possession as the same<br \/>\nwere in possession of financial institutions.\n<\/p>\n<p>24. By this application under Section 391 of the<br \/>\nCode of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the<br \/>\napplicant-accused seeks to rebut the presumption under<br \/>\nSection 139 of the Negotiable Instruments Act by<br \/>\nleading evidence in his defence to prove that all the<br \/>\nshares were not in his possession but in possession of<br \/>\nfinancial institutions. This clearly is an<br \/>\nimprovement in the defence as the four documents<br \/>\nExhibits D-1 to D-4 are in respect of some 10-12<br \/>\nshares only while the consideration for issue of the<br \/>\ncheques admittedly is for surrender of all 12% shares<br \/>\nin Reliance Silicon India Ltd. by the complainant to<br \/>\nthe accused. It is clear that a new case is sought to<br \/>\nbe put up in appeal by the applicant-accused stepping<br \/>\ninto the witness box and examining himself. The<br \/>\napplicant-accused chose not to reply to the said<br \/>\nnotice under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments<br \/>\nAct, he chose not to examine himself or lead any<br \/>\nevidence in defence at the trial; he chose not toe<br \/>\npress his application for issue of witness summons;<br \/>\nand chose to restrict his defence to the four<br \/>\ndocuments only, namely, Exhibits D-1 and D-4 which<br \/>\npertained only to some 10-12 shares and not all<br \/>\nshares of Reliance Silicon India Ltd. The application<br \/>\nfor witness summons which the accused claims to have<br \/>\nfiled in the trial Court is to before this Court<br \/>\ntoday. It is not clear whether the case of the<br \/>\napplicant-accused is that these witnesses whom he<br \/>\nproposed to examine would prove that all shares were<br \/>\nnot in his custody but in custody of financial<br \/>\ninstitutions. If that was, in fact, his defence, then<br \/>\nthe applicant-accused will be deemed to have given up<br \/>\nthis defence by waiving his right to lead evidence and<br \/>\nrestricting his defence to only the four documents<br \/>\nwhich admittedly cover only some and not all the<br \/>\nshares. It is the case of the Applicant\/Accused that<br \/>\nsince there was no consideration, the accused was<br \/>\nentitled to stop the payment of the cheques. If this<br \/>\nwas, in fact, the defence of the accused, he would<br \/>\nhave replied to the notice field under Section 138 of<br \/>\nthe Negotiable Instruments Act; he would have insisted<br \/>\non summoning the witnesses whom he proposed to examine<br \/>\nby issuing witness summons and he would not have<br \/>\ndeclined the offer of examining himself and lead<br \/>\nevidence after his statement under Section 313 of the<br \/>\nCode of Criminal Procedure was recorded.\n<\/p>\n<p>25. It is clear that the accused at the stage of<br \/>\nappeal is now trying to set up a new case. The<br \/>\naffidavit of respondent No. 2 dated 23.1.2003 makes<br \/>\nreference to the declaration of the Accused Yogendra<br \/>\nBhagatram Sachdev dated 23rd August 1994 filed in Suit<br \/>\nNo. 3978 of 2002 stating that the entire shareholding<br \/>\nof Reliance Silicon India Ltd. Is in the name of the<br \/>\napplicant. This indicates that the shares which<br \/>\nbelonged to respondent No. 2 have been duly transferred<br \/>\nto the name of the applicant-accused. Thus no case<br \/>\nhas been made out by the applicant-accused to allow<br \/>\nhim to examine himself or lead evidence in his defence<br \/>\nat the stage of Appeal. It is clearly an attempt to<br \/>\nimprove on the defence, if not to set up a anew<br \/>\ndefence altogether. This Court in exercise of the<br \/>\njurisdiction under Section 391 of the Code of Criminal<br \/>\nProcedure, 1973, as clearly laid down in various<br \/>\ndecisions of the Apex Court, is required to exercise<br \/>\nits discretion with circumspection and caution and<br \/>\nmust disallow any such application if the power under<br \/>\nSection 391 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is<br \/>\nsought to be misused or abused. In the circumstances,<br \/>\nthe application must fail. The application is<br \/>\nrejected and disposed of accordingly. The learned<br \/>\nJudge hearing the appeal will not be influenced by any<br \/>\nof the observations made above.\n<\/p>\n<p>26. Parties to act on an ordinary copy of this<br \/>\norder duly authenticated by the Sheristedar of this<br \/>\nCourt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bombay High Court Yogendra Bhagatram Sachdev vs The State Of Maharashtra And Shri &#8230; on 7 February, 2003 Equivalent citations: 2003 (2) ALD Cri 21, III (2003) BC 158, 2003 BomCR Cri Author: A Aguiar Bench: A Aguiar JUDGMENT A.S. Aguiar, J. 1. By this application, presumably under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bombay-high-court","category-high-court"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Yogendra Bhagatram Sachdev vs The State Of Maharashtra And Shri ... on 7 February, 2003 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/yogendra-bhagatram-sachdev-vs-the-state-of-maharashtra-and-shri-on-7-february-2003\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yogendra Bhagatram Sachdev vs The State Of Maharashtra And Shri ... on 7 February, 2003 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; 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