3 brothers acquitted in cheque-bounce cases

Ishrat S Banwait

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 17

A local court has acquitted three brothers in three cheque-bounce cases filed by their fourth brother. While the complainant had alleged that the money was given in lieu of land division, the three brothers said they had given blank cheques to him following his request.

In 2013, complainant Milap Singh had filed the cases against his three brothers Rajinder Singh, Bhumi Singh and Gandharv Singh, residents of Kangra. The complainant had stated that the cheques for Rs 22.5 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and Rs 6 lakh were given by the brothers, but those were dishonoured by the bank. Even after serving them a legal notice, they had failed to pay the amount.

The accused said Milap had asked for blank cheques on the pretext of submitting them to the Embassy for going abroad. They had given the cheques on trust, but Milap misused them. Milap’s brother-in-law Sulochan Singh, a resident of Delhi and a retired bank manager, said in the court that he had approached him in 2012 saying he had obtained the cheques and would now misuse them.

The court observed that no offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act was made by the accused and that there was no liability. The court also observed that a civil suit for the partition of land had already reached a compromise in Kangra. Therefore, the brothers did not issue the cheques in that regard.

Defence counsel Thakur Kartar Singh said Judicial Magistrate Iram Hasan had acquitted the three brothers as the complainant had failed to prove his case. “The complainant misused the cheques that the brothers gave him on trust after he requested for the same. He filed the case with intention to get money from his brothers,” he added.