U-Turn & Ors. Vs State of Gujarat & Anr. (Gujarat High Court)
Summary: The Gujarat High Court considered whether a single complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 could be maintained for dishonour of four cheques arising from one transaction. The petition was filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, challenging the order dated 26.04.2021 passed by the Additional Senior Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Surat, in Criminal Case No.23017 of 2021. The petitioners sought to have the order quashed as an abuse of the process of law. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
Petitioner No.1, U-Turn, was a partnership firm engaged in the business of optical glasses, while petitioners Nos.2 and 3 were its partners. Respondent No.2, Insperson Ink, was also a partnership firm and had obtained a franchise of petitioner No.1 on 11.09.2019. Under the franchise arrangement, the complainant had paid Rs.72.50 lakh through RTGS and NEFT. When repayment was demanded towards the legally enforceable debt, four cheques were issued. The four cheques were dated 26.02.2020, 26.02.2020, 26.02.2020 and 20.05.2020, bearing cheque numbers 071027, 071028, 071029 and 071026 respectively, for Rs.15 lakh, Rs.15 lakh, Rs.14 lakh and Rs.15 lakh. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
All four cheques were dishonoured on 22.05.2020. A statutory notice was issued on 10.06.2020, which was returned unserved. The cause of action was stated to have arisen on 28.06.2020, and a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 was filed in respect of the four dishonoured cheques. The complaint was filed on 21.08.2020 and cognizance was taken on 26.04.2021. The Court also noted the notifications issued during the COVID-19 pandemic and the order of the Supreme Court in Suo Moto Writ (Civil) No.3/2020 while considering the limitation aspect. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
