The complaint filed by the revision petitioner before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court II, Thiruvananthapuram alleging the offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, was dismissed by the learned Magistrate under Section 204(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure by order dated 30.01.2014. The said order is under challenge. Complaint was taken on file as S.T.No.2053 of 2010 and non-bailable warrant was issued against the accused along with steps under Section 82 and 83 of Cr.P.C. When the revision petitioner failed to take necessary steps, the learned Magistrate dismissed the complaint under Section 204(4) Cr.P.C.
2.The learned counsel submitted that due to some inadvertent mistake the revision petitioner/complainant could not notice the exact date of posting, and failure to take necessary steps happened in such a situation. It appears that the revision petitioner has a genuine grievance when the total amount involved in the dispute is `3 lakhs. It is submitted that the complainant has not so far initiated any civil action with the hope and expectation that he will get justice in the prosecution initiated by him. In the aforesaid facts and circumstances, I feel it necessary to grant some opportunity to the complainant to take necessary steps and to prosecute the matter with diligence in the trial court. In the nature of disposal, I feel it not necessary to issue notice to the respondent. No harm or prejudicial will be caused to him, if the complainant is permitted to continue the prosecution from the stage at which it was closed.
In the result this revision petition is allowed. The impugned order of the trial court in S.T.No.2053 of 2010 dated 30.01.2014 is set aside, the complaint is re-stored to files in the trial court, and the trial court is directed to proceed with the complaint from the stage at which it was dismissed, after giving reasonable opportunity to the complainant/revision petitioner to take necessary steps within two months. The revision petitioner will appear before the trial court on 01.07.2014.
AMV/23/5/ P.UBAID, JUDGE