Research › Search › Judgment

Uttarakhand High Court · body

2014 DIGILAW 241 (UTT)

Shanti Swaroop v. Hilansh Educational Suppliers

2014-05-28

U.C.DHYANI

body2014
JUDGMENT U.C. Dhyani, J. 1. The applicant, by means of present application under Section 482 of Cr. P.C. seeks a direction to Special Judicial Magistrate III, Dehradun, to decide the criminal complaint case no. 979 of 2013, Shanti Swaroop vs. M/s. Hilansh Educational Suppliers and another, under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, within a stipulated period. 2. The criminal complaint case under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act is pending since 2012. 3. Although the criminal complaint case is not an old one, but sub-section (3) of Section 143 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, provides that ‘every trial under this section shall be conducted as expeditiously as possible and an endeavour shall be made to conclude the trial within six months from the date of filing of the complaint.’ 4. Speedy trial is one of the fundamental rights of a citizen guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It does not lie in one’s mouth to say that any lis pending before any court should not be decided at the earliest and, therefore, this Court does not feel it necessary to issue notices to the respondents. 5. It will also be useful to reproduce here-in-below sub-section (2) of Section 143 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. The same reads as under: “(2) The trial of a case under this Section shall, so far as practicable, consistently with the interests of justice, be continued from day to day until its conclusion, unless the Court finds the adjournment of the trial beyond the following day to be necessary for reasons to be recorded in writing.” 6. Application under Section 482 of Cr. P.C. is, therefore, summarily disposed of at the threshold by reminding the learned Special Judicial Magistrate III, Dehradun of the spirit contained in sub-section (2) and sub-section (3) of Section 143 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. It is hoped and expected that learned Special Judicial Magistrate III, Dehradun shall make an endeavour to decide criminal complaint case no. 979 of 2013, Shanti Swaroop vs. M/s. Hilansh Educational Suppliers and another, under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, pending before it, at an earliest possible.