D. Ravi v. Pavithran E. (and State of Kerala)
Case Details & Bench
- Court
- High Court of Kerala
- Hon'ble Judges
- R. Narayana Pisharadi, J.
- Judgment Date
- 2019-11-25
- Court Decision / Holding
- The petition is dismissed. The court clarifies that nothing stated in the order shall affect the independent appreciation of evidence by the trial court.
- Final Disposition
- Dismissed
Parties to the Case
Appellants / Petitioners
- D. Ravi
Respondents
- Pavithran E.
- State of Kerala represented by Public Prosecutor, High Court of Kerala, Ernakulam
Legal Representation & Advocates
Counsels for Petitioners
- • M. V. Amaresan
Counsels for Respondents
- • C. N. Prabhakaran, Sr. PP
Case Synopsis & Summary
The High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam, in a Criminal Misc. Case (Crl.MC No. 8216 of 2019) decided on 25 November 2019 by Judge R. Narayana Pisharadi, deals with a challenge to interlocutory orders in a case under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. The petition arises from ST 20/2017 before the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Payyannur, and the Sessions Court, Thalassery’s order in CRRP 3/2019. The petitioner, D. Ravi, is accused of issuing a post‑dated cheque for Rs. 1,00,000 in discharge of a debt after borrowing from Pavithran E. The cheque, dated 02.07.2015, was dishonoured for insufficient funds, and the complainant served a statutory notice, to which the accused did not respond. During trial, the complainant testified that the cheque was written, prepared, and signed by the accused, but the accused challenged the handwriting of the payee and date and sought sending the cheque to a handwriting expert. The trial court dismissed that request; the Sessions Court dismissed the revision; and the petitioner approached this Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. The learned judge relies on the Supreme Court’s Bir Singh v. Mukesh Kumar (AIR 2019 SC 2446) to hold that there is no necessity to forward the cheque for handwriting examination. Finding no force in the petitioner’s contentions, the High Court declined to interfere, and dismissed the petition, while noting that trial‑court evidence remains for independent evaluation. The decision leaves handwriting issues to be resolved at trial.
Provisions of Law Cited
Legal Doctrines & Maxims
- Presumption under Section 139 NI Act that a signed cheque issued for payment of a debt gives rise to a presumption of liability; onus on the accused to rebut through evidence.
- A signed blank cheque, if voluntarily handed over and later filled by the payee, does not constitute an alteration; the onus to prove otherwise lies with the accused, and the absence of cogent evidence to show non‑issuance in discharge of a debt allows the presumption to stand.
Submissions & Arguments
Contentions of Appellants / Petitioners
The petitioner contends that handwriting in the cheque (specifically the name of the payee and the date) may not be in the accused’s handwriting, and therefore the cheque should be sent to a handwriting expert for opinion. He relies on Bir Singh v. Mukesh Kumar (AIR 2019 SC 2446) to argue that there is no necessity to forward the cheque for expert handwriting examination. The applicant asserts that he had borrowed Rs. 1,00,000 from one Krishnan and signed the cheque, alleging that it may have been handed to Krishnan rather than the complainant; the absence of a reply to notice should not foreclose this possibility, and the handwriting question is central to the question of liability. The contested issue, according to the petitioner, should be resolved by the handwriting expert’s opinion prior to trial. The petition thus seeks to exercise the inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to quash or modify the lower court orders.
Contentions of Respondents
The respondents rely on the presumption under Section 139 NI Act that a signed cheque towards discharge of a debt raises a presumption of liability, shifting the burden to the accused to prove that the cheque was not issued in discharge of debt. They point to the complainant’s testimony that the cheque was written, prepared, and signed by the accused and were supported by the accused’s admitted signature. They argue that the cheque, having been signed and produced by the drawer, does not automatically require handwriting examination, and the question of handwriting does not override the statutory presumption and the trial’s evaluation of credibility. The revisional court’s reliance on Bir Singh is consistent with the view that the handwriting aspect is a matter for trial, and that the onus remains on the accused to rebut the presumption by evidence.
Cited Precedents (1)
| Case Name | Citation | Treatment | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bir Singh v. Mukesh Kumar | AIR 2019 SC 2446 | Positive | The High Court follows the Bir Singh principle to hold that there is no necessity to forward the cheque for handwriting examination; the onus remains on the accused to rebut the presumption of liability. |
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