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Ajeet Seeds Limited v. K. Gopala Krishnaiah

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 1523 of 2014)Decided 16 Jul 2014
Criminal Appeal No. 1523 of 2014
Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai · Justice N.V. Ramana

Background

Ajeet Seeds filed a cheque dishonour complaint alleging that a cheque issued for a legally recoverable debt had bounced. The accused challenged the proceeding on the ground that the demand notice had not been served. The High Court quashed the complaint because it did not recite a specific service date and proof of service or return of the notice had not been shown.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and restored the complaint, without deciding whether the accused was ultimately guilty. A notice properly addressed and sent by registered post attracts a rebuttable legal presumption of service. The complaint need not additionally assert that an unserved notice is deemed served or that the accused deliberately evaded it. Whether the notice was actually served, and whether contrary evidence defeats the presumption, are matters for proof rather than an assumption at the process-issuing stage. The High Court had overlooked the governing three-judge ruling in C. C. Alavi Haji, so its reasons did not justify terminating the prosecution.

Lesson Learnt

Keep evidence of the correctly addressed registered demand notice when pursuing a bounced-cheque claim. A disputed service allegation can require a trial, while the recipient remains entitled to rebut the presumption with evidence.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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