NISHANT AGGARWALversusKAILASH KUMAR SHARMA

                     [2013] 7 S.C.R. 165

                    NISHANT AGGARWAL                                A
                               v.
                KAILASH KUMAR SHARMA
             (Criminal Appeal No. 808 of 2013)
                         JULY 1, 2013
                                                                    8
[P. SATHASIVAM AND JAGDISH SINGH KHEHAR, JJ.]

     NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS ACT, 1881:

      ss.138 and 141 - Dishonour of cheque - Territorial            c
jurisdiction - In view of the law laid down in Bhaskaran's case,
the Magistrate in whose jurisdiction the drawee resides and,
as such, has filed the complaint, has territorial jurisdiction to
try the complaint- s.178 of the Code has widened the scope
of jurisdiction of a criminal court and s. 179 of ihe Code has      0
 stretched it to still a wider horizon - Code of Criminal
 Procedure, 1973 - ss. 177, 178 and 179 - Jurisdiction.

    The respondent/complainant, a resident of and
carrying on business in District Bhiwani, Haryana,
presented a cheque in his bank at Bhiwani which was E
further presented to the drawer's Bank at Guwahati. The
cheque was returned uncashed to the respondent's bank
at Bhiwani with the endorsement "payment stopped by
drawer". The respcndent sent a legal notice uls 138 of the
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (N.I. Act) to the F
appellant (the drawer of the cheque) from Bhiwani, and,
later filed a complaint u/ss 138 and 141 of the N.I. Act
before the Judicial Magistrate at Bhiwani. The Judicial
Magistrate, by his order dated 5.3.2011, returned the
complaint to the respondent for presentation before the G
proper court having jurisdiction. However, the Additional
District Judge, Bhiwani, in the revision petition set aside
the order of the Judicial Magistrate. The High Court
dismissed the petition of the appellant.
                              165                                   H
    166       SUPREME COURT REPORTS           [2013) 7 S.C.R.


A      In the instant appeal, the question for consideration
  before the Court was: whether the court, where a cheque
  is deposited for collection, would have territorial
  jurisdiction to try the accused for an offence punishable
  u/s 138 of the N.I. Act or would it be only the court
B exercising territorial jurisdiction over the drawee bank or
  the bank on which the cheque is drawn?

          Dismissing the appeal, the Court

        HELD: 1.1 This Court in K. Bhaskaran's case*, while
C considering the territorial jurisdiction, has concluded that
   the amplitude of territorial jurisdiction pertaining to a
   complaint under the N.1. Act is very wide and expansive.
   This Court, keeping in view the relevant provisions of the
   Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, particularly, ss. 177,
D 178 and 179, laid down that s.138 has five components,
   namely, i)drawing of the cheque; ii) presentation of the
   cheque to the bank; iii) returning the cheque unpaid by
   the drawee bank; iv) giving notice in writing to the drawer
   of the cheque demanding payment of the cheque
E amount; and v) failure of the drawer to make payment
  within 15 days of the receipt of the notice; and concluded
  that the complainant could choose any one of the five
  places to file a complaint. The Court clarified the place in
  the context of territorial jurisdiction as per the fifth
F component, namely, "failure of the drawer to make
   payment within 15 days of the receipt." The place of
  failure to pay the amount has been clearly qualified by
  this Court as the place where the drawer resides or the
   place where the payee resides. The Court has held that
G s.178 of the Code has widened the scope of jurisdiction
  of a criminal court and s.179 of the Code has stretched it
  to still a wider horizon. The judgment in lshar Alloy does
  not affect the ratio in K. Bhaskaran which provides
  jurisdiction at the place of residence of the payer and the
H payee. [para 8-9 and 13] [172-C-G; 173-G-H; 174-A, B; 178-
  D-E]
NISHANT AGGARWAL v. KAILASH KUMAR SHARMA 167


     *K. Bhaskaran vs. Sankaran Vaidhyan Ba/an and                A
Another 1999 (3) Suppl. SCR 271 = (1999) 7 SCC 510 -
relied on.
     Shri lshar Alloy Steels Ltd. vs. Jayaswa/s Neco Ltd., 2001
            =
(2) SCR 36 (2001) 3 SCC 609; Mrs. Preetha S. Babu vs.
Voltas Limited and Another 2010 (3) Maharashtra Law               B
Journal 234; and Harman Electronics· Private Limited and
Another vs. National Panasonic India Pn"vate Limited 2008
                =
(17) SCR 487 (2009) 1 SCC 720 - referred,to.
     1.2 In view of the law laid down by this Court in            C
K.Bhaskaran, this Court is of the view that the Magistrate
at Bhiwani has territorial jurisdiction to try the complaint
filed by the respondent, as he is undisputedly a resident
of Bhiwani. [para 9] [174-A-B]
                     Case Law Reference:                          D
    1999 (3) Suppl. SCR 271        relied on        para 6
    2001 (2) SCR 36                referred to      para 10
    2010 (3) Maharashtra           referred to      para 11
                                                                  E
    Law Journal 234
     \
    2008 (17) SCR 487              referred to      para 12

    CRIMINAL APP ELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal
No. 808 of 2013.
                                                                  F
    From the Judgment and Order dated 31.10.2011 of the
High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh in Crl. Misc.
No. M-32542 of 2011 (O&M).

    Huzefa Ahmadi, Raka B. Phookan, Neha Tandon                   G
Phookan, Shailesh Madiyal, Rohan Sharma for the Appellant.

    fy'lahabir Singh, Rakesh Dahiya, Gagandeep Sharma,
Preeti Singh, Nikhil Jain for the Respondent.

    The Judgment of the Court was delivered by                    H
    168       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2013] 7 S.C.R.


A         P. SATHASIVAM, J. 1. Leave granted.
       2. The question which has to be decided in this appeal is
  whether the Court, where a cheque is deposited for collection,
  would have territorial jurisdiction to try the accused for an
  offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable
B Instruments Act, 1881 (in short "the N.l.Act") or would it be only
  the Court exercising territorial jurisdiction over the drawee bank
  or the bank on which the cheque is drawn?,
          3. This)lppeal is directed against the final judgment and
c 'Or(:ler 'dated 31.10.2011 passed by the High Court of Punjab
  & Haryana at Chandigarh in Criminal Misc. No. M-32542 of
  2011 whereby the High Court dismissed the petition filed by
  the appellant herein on the ground that it is not a fit case for
  invoking Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
D (hereinafter referred to as "the Code").
          4. Brief facts:
       a) The appellant herein is the Directa~,of M/s Byrni Steel
  Private Limited and his father Mr. B.L. Aggarwal is the
  Managing Director of Mis Mechfeb Engineering Industries
E Private Limited situated at Meghalaya and Guwahati. The
  respondent was associated with both the abovementioned
  firms as he used to bring business from various private firms
  and Government Departments on commission basis.
F      b) During the course of business, the appellant herein
  issued a post-dated cheque bearing No. 925504 dated
  01.08.2009 drawn on Standard Chartered Bank, Guwahati, for
  Rs. 28,62, 7001- in favour of the complainant-respondent herein
  in order to discharge his legal enforceable liabilities. Vide letter
G dated 21.01.2006, the appellant informed the Branch Manager,
  Standard Chartered Bank, Guwahati, as well as the officer in-
  charge, Dispur Police Station, Guwahati regarding missing of
  the said cheque. Thereafter, on 28.03.2008, the appellant wrote
  a letter to the Standard Chartered Bank for stop payment of
H the said cheque as the same was missing.
NISHANT AGGARWAL v. KAILASH KUMAR SHARMA 169
            [P. SATHASIVAM, J.]
    c) According to the respondent, on 13.08.2009, when he          A
presented the same for collection through its bankers, viz.,
Canara Bank, Bhiwani, Haryana, it was returned unpaid on
11.09.2009 due to stop payment by the appellant. When the
respondent approached the appellant about dishonour of the
same, he was told to present the same again for collection after    B
one month. On 15.10.2009, the respondent again presented the
cheque for collection but the same was again returned unpaid
on 14.12.2009.
     d) On 11.01.2010, the respondent sent a legal notice to
the appellant asking him to pay Rs. 28,62,700/-within a period      C
of 15 days from the date of the receipt of the notice along with
the interest, failing which, he shall be liable to be prosecuted
under Section 138(b) of the N.I. Act.
      e) On 05.02.2010, the appellant herein filed a complaint      0
petition being C.R. No. 340 of 2010 in the Court of Addi. Chief
Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup at Guwahati under Sections 379,
381,411and420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short "the
IPC") against the respondent. On 05.03.2010, the respondent
filed a complaint being C.R. No. 9 of 2010 before the Court of
J.M.l.C., Bhiwani under Section 190 of the Code for taking          E
cognizance of the offence committed by the appellant under
Sections 138 and 141 of the N.I. Act.
     f) The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup, by
order dated 15.06.2010, in C.R. No. 340 of 2010, issued             F
bailable warrants against the respondent. Thereafter, on
06.08.2010, the respondent filed an application for recall of the
bailable warrants issued against him. Ultimately, learned
Judicial Magistrate, Bhiwani, vide order dated 05.03.2011,
accepted the application with the observation that the Court at     G
Bhiwani has no jurisdiction and the complaint was returned for
presentation before the proper Court having jurisdiction.
    g) Dissatisfied with the order dated 05.03.2011, the
respondent filed Criminal Revision Petition being No. 35 of
2011 before the Court of Additional Sessions Judge IV,              H
    170      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2013) 7 S.C.R.


A   Bihwani. By order d~ted 12.05.2011, the Additional Sessions
    Judge set aside the order of the Judicial Magistrate, Bhiwani
    and allowed the revision.
       h) Aggrieved by the said order, the appellant herein filed
  Crl. Misc. No. M-32542 of 2011 before the High Court. The
B High Court, by impugned order dated 31.10.2011, dismissed
  the petition.
        i) Against the said order, the appellant has preferred this
    appeal by way of special leave before this Court.
c        5. Heard Mr. Huzefa Ahmadi, learned senior counsel for
    the appellant-accused and Mr. Mahabir Singh, learned senior
    counsel for the respondent-the complainant.
        6. It is the claim of the appellant that the present case is
o not covered by the judgment of this Court in K. Bhaskaran vs.
  Sankaran Vaidhyan Ba/an and Another, (1999) 7 SCC 510.
  On the other hand, it is the specific claim of the respondent that
  insofar as territorial jurisdiction of the case on hand, namely,
  complaint filed under Section 138 of the N.I. Act is concerned,
E the decision of this Court in K. Bhasaran (supra) squarely
  applies, accordingly, the Court at Bhiwani is competent to try
  and dispose of the complaint filed by him. It is also pointed out
  that the said issue was rightly considered and accepted by the
  Additional Sessions Judge, Bhiwani as well as by the High
F Court.
         7. We have already narrated the case of both the parties
  in the pleadings portion. In order to answer the only question,
  it is relevant to note that the undisputed facts in the context of
  territorial jurisdiction of the learned Magistrate at Bhiwani are
G that the drawee of the cheque i.e., the respondent/complainant
  is a resident of Bhiwani. The native village of the respondent,
  namely, village Barsana is situated in District Bhiwani. The
  respondent owns ancestral agricultural land at village Barsana,
  District Bhiwani. It is also asserted that the respondent is
H running his bank account with Canara Bank, Bhiwani and is
NISHANT AGGARWAL v. KAILASH KUMAR SHARMA 171
            [P. SATHASIVAM, J.]
also residing at the present address for the last about two            A
decades. In view of the same, it is the claim of the respondent
that he bonafidely presented the cheque in his bank at Bhiwani
which was further presented to the drawer's Bank at Guwahati.
The cheque was returned uncashed to the respondent's bank
at Bhiwani with the endorsement "payment stopped by drawer''.          B
The respondent received the bounced cheque back from his
bank at Bhiwani. Thereafter, the respondent sent a legal notice
under Section 138 of the N.I. Act to the appellant from Bhiwani.
In turn, the appellant sent a reply to the said notice which the
 respondent received at Bhiwani. In view of non-payment of the         c
 cheque amount, the respondent filed a complaint under
 Sections 138 and 141 of the N.I. Act before the learned
 Magistrate at Bhiwani.

     8. Inasmuch as the issue in question is directly considered
by this Court in K. Bhaskaran (supra), before going into the           D
applicability of other decisions, it is useful to refer the relevant
portion of the judgment in paras 10 and 11 of the said case
which reads thus:

     "10. Learned counsel for the appellant first contended that       E
     the trial court has no jurisdiction to try this case and hence
     the High Court should not have converted the acquittal into
     conviction on the strength of the evidence collected in such
     a trial. Of course, the trial court had upheld the pleas of
     the accused that it had no jurisdiction to try the case.          F.

    11. We fail to comprehend as to how the trial court could
    have found so regarding the jurisdiction ques~ion. Under
    Section 177 of the Code "every offence shall ordinarily be
    enquired into and tried in a court within whose jurisdiction
    it was committed". The locality where the Bank (which              G
    dishonoured the cheque) is situated cannot be regarded
    as the sole criterion to determine the place of offence. It
    must be remembered that offence under Section 138
    would not be completed with the dishonour of the cheque.           ;
     It attains completion only with the failure of the drawer of      H
     172            SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [2013) 7 S.C.R.


A          the cheque to pay the cheque amount within the expiry of
           15 days mentioned in clause (c) of the proviso to Section
           138 of the Act. It is normally difficult to fix up a particular
           locality as the place of failure to pay the amount covered
           by the cheque. A place, for that purpose, would depend
B          upon a variety of factors. It can either be at the place where
           the drawer resides or at the place where the payee resides
           or at the place.where either of them carries on business.
           Hence, the difficulty to fix up any particular locality as the
           place of occurrence for the offence under Section 138 of
c          the Act.

  It is clear that this Court also discussed the relevant provisions
  of the Code, particularly, Sections 177, 178 and 179 and in the
  light of the language used, interpreted Section 138 of the N.I.
  Act and laid down that Section 138 has five components,
D namely,

            (i)      drawing of the cheque;

            (ii)     presentation of the cheque to the bank;

E           (iii)    returning the cheque unpaid by the drawee bank;

            (iv)     giving notice in writing to the drawer of the cheque
                     demanding payment of the cheque amount; and

            (v)      failure of the drawer to make payment within 15
·F
                     days of the receipt of the notice.

     After saying so, this Court concluded that the complainant can
     choose any· one of the five places to file a complaint. The further
     discussion in the said judgment is extracted hereunder:
G
           "14. The offence under .Section 138 of the Act can be
           completed only with the concatenation of a number of acts.
           The following are the acts which are components of the
           said offence: (1) drawing of the cheque, (2) presentation
           of the cheque to the bank, (3) returning the cheque unpaid
H
NISHANT AGGARWAL v. KAILASH KUMAR SHARMA 173
            [P. SATHASIVAM, J.]
    by the drawee bank, (4) giving notice in writing to the             A
    drawer of the cheque demanding payment of the cheque
    amount, (5) failure of the drawer to make payment within
    15 days of the receipt of the notice.
    15. It is not necessary that all the above five acts should
                                                                        8
    have been perpetrated at the same locality. It is possible
    that each of those five acts could be done at five different
    localities. But a concatenation of all the above five is a sine
    qua non for the completion of the offence under Section
    138 of the Code. In this context a reference to Section
     178(d) of the Code is useful. It is extracted below:               C
     "178. (a)-(c)      *        *       *
     (d) where the offence consists of several acts done in
     different local areas,
                                                                        D
     it may be enquired into or tried by a court having
     jurisdiction over any of such local areas."
     16. Thus it is clear, if the five different acts were done in
     five different localities any one of the courts exercising
     jurisdiction in one of the five local areas can become the         E
     place of trial for the offence under Section 138 of the Act.
     In other words, the complainant can choose any one of
     those courts having jurisdiction over any one of the local
     areas within the territorial limits of which any one of those
     five acts was done. As the amplitude stands so widened
                                                                        F
     and so expansive it is an idle exercise to raise
     jurisdictional question regarding the offence under Section
      138 of the Act."
      9. Para 11 of K. Bhaskaran (supra), as quoted above,
clarified the place in the context of territorial jurisdiction as per   G
the fifth component, namely, "failure of the drawer to make
payment within 15 days of the receipt." As rightly pointed out
by learned senior counsel for the respondent, the place of failure
to pay the amount has been clearly qualified by this Court as
\he place where the drawer resides or the place where the               H
    174       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                    [2013] 7 S.C.R.


A payee resides. In view of the same and in the light of the law
  laid down by this Court in K. Bhaskaran (supra), we are of the
  view that the learned Magistrate at Bhiwani has territorial
  jurisdiction to try the complaint filed by the respondent as the
  respondent is undisputedly a resident of Bhiwani. Further, in K.
B Bhaskaran (supra), while considering the territorial jurisdiction
  at great length, this Court has concluded that the amplitude of
  territorial jurisdiction pertaining to a complaint under the N.I. Act
  is very wide and expansive and we are in entire agreement
  with the same.
c         10. Mr. Ahmadi, learned senior counsel for the appellant
    in support of his claim that the Court at Bhiwani has no
    jurisdiction heavily relied on the decision of this Court in Shri
     /shar Alloy Steels Ltd. vs. Jayaswals Neco Ltd., (2001) 3 SCC
    609. We were taken through the entire judgment. Though the
D   case is also related to N.I. Act, the issue of territorial jurisdiction
    was not the subject-matter thereof. In lshar Alloy Steels (supra),
    a three-Judge Bench of this Court defined the term "the bank"
    appearing in clause (a) of Section 138 of the N.I. Act as the
    drawer's bank. It was defined in the context of the statutory
E   period of six months as mentioned in clause (a), hence, this
    Court held that the date of presentation of the cheque for
    calculating the statutory time period of six months will be the
    date of presentation of the cheque to the drawer's bank i.e.
    payee bank and not the drawee's bank i.e. collecting bank. This
F   Court has correctly applied the principle of strict interpretation
    appreciating that Section 138 of the N.I. Act creates an offence
    as the drawer of the cheque cannot be expected or saddled
    with the liability to hold the cheque amount in his account
    beyond six months. The reading of the entire decision in /sher
G   Alloy Steel (supra) shows that jurisdiction of the Court to take
    cognizance arises only where cheque is presented to the bank
    of drawer either by drawee's bank or the drawee/payee
    personally within six months. In other words, the analysis of the
    said decision, the ratio of /sher Alloy Steel (supra) deals with
H   such a situation where the cheque has been presented within
NISHANT AGGARWAL v. KAILASH KUMAR SHARMA 175
            [P. SATHASIVAM, J.]
six months to the drawer's bank by the payee in any manner.            A
Inasmuch as the interpretation relates to filing of complaint within
the statutory time period of six months, we are of the view that
the reliance on the law laid down in /sher Alloy Steel (supra)
has no relevance as far as the present case is concerned. In
fact, that is the reason that in /sher Alloy Steel (supra), the        B
judgment in K. Bhaskaran (supra) was not discussed since
territorial jurisdiction was not the issue in that case. In view of
the same, the definition of the term "the bank" envisaged in
 /sher Alloy Steel (supra) cannot be employed· to decide the
jurisdictional aspect and dilute the ratio of the judgment in K.       c
 Bhaskaran (supra). Hence, we are of the view that on the
 strength of the judgment in /sher Alloy Steel (supra) defining
the term "the bank", it cannot be said that jurisdiction to file a
 complaint under Section 138 of the N. I. Act does not lie at the
 place of drawee's bank. To put it clearly, the judgment in /sher      0
Alloy Steel (supra) does not affect the ratio of the judgment in
K. Bhaskaran (supra) which provides for jurisdiction at the
place of residence of the payer and the payee. In· such
 circumstances, we are of the view that the judgment in /sher
Alloy Steel (supr*) 1as well as judgments of various High Courts       E
 relied on by the appellant cannot be read against the
 respondent to hold that the Magistrate at Bhiwani does not have
 the jurisdiction to try the complaint.
      11. Though several decisions of various High Courts were
cited before us, we de!;!m it appropriate to refer only one            F
 Division Bench decision of the Bombay High Court rendered
 in Criminal Writ Petition No. 3158 of 2009, Mrs. Preetha S.
Babu vs. Vo/fas Limited and Another, reported in 201 O (3)
Maharashtra Law Journal 234. The Division Bench, after
analyzing the factual position of both sides, correctly applied        G
the ratio laid down in K. Bhaskaran (supra) finding that the
Mumbai Court has jurisdiction to entertain the complaint,
dismissed the said writ petition.

    12. Mr. Ahmadi, learned senior counsel for the appellant
has also relied on a decision of this Court in Harman                  H
    176      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  (2013] 7 S.C.R.


A   Electronics Private Limited and Another vs. National
    Panasonic India Private Limited, (2009) 1 SCC 720. In
    Harman Electronics (supra), the complainant and the accused
    entered into a business transaction. The accused was a
    resident of Chandigarh. He carried on the business in
B   Chandigarh and issued a cheque in question at Chandigarh.
    The complainant had a Branch Office at Chandigarh although
    his Head Office was at Delhi. He presented the cheque given
    by the accused at Chandigarh. The cheque was dishonoured
    at Chandigarh-. The complainant issued a notice upon the
c   accused asking him to pay the amount from New Delhi. The
    said notice was served on the accused at Chandigarh. On
    failure on the part of the accused to pay the amountwithin 15
    days from the date of the communication of the said letter, the
    complainant filed a complaint at Delhi. In the complaint, it was
D   stated that the Delhi Court has jurisdiction to try the case
     because the complainant was carrying on business at Delhi,
    the demand notice was issued from Delhi, the amount of
    cheque was payable at Delhi and the accused failed to make
    the payment of the said cheque within the statutory period of
E   15 days from the date of receipt of notice. It is further seen that
    the cognizance of the offence was taken by the learned
     Magistrate at Delhi. The accused questioned the jurisdiction of
    the Magistrate at Delhi before the Addi. Sessions Judge, New
    Delhi. The Sessions Judge held that the Magistrate at Delhi had
    jurisdiction to entertain the complaint as, admitedly, the notice
F   was sent by the complainant to the accused from Delhi and the
    complainant was having its Registered Office at Delhi and was
    carrying on business at Delhi. The learned Judge has also
    observed that the accused failed to make payment at Delhi as
    the demand was made from Delhi and the payment was to be
G   made to the complainant at Delhi. The Delhi High Court
    dismissed the petition filed by the accused. Thereafter, the
     accused approached this Court. This Court considered Section
     138 of the N.I. Act and also referred to K. Bhaskaran's case
     (supra) and quoted the five components of offence under
H    Section 138 which have been noted in paragraph supra. This
NISHANT AGGARWAL v. KAILASH KUMAR SHARMA 177
            [P. SATHASIVAM, J.]
Court reiterated that the five different acts which are the            A
components of offence under Section 138 of the N.l. Act were
done in five different localities, any one of the courts exercising
jurisdiction in one of the five local areas can become the place
of trial for the offence under Section 138 of the N.l. Act and the
complainant would be at liberty to file a complaint at any of          B
those places. Ultimately, this Court held that the Chandigarh
Court had jurisdiction to entertain the complaint because the
parties were carrying on business at Chandigarh, Branch Office
of the complainant was also in Chandigarh, the transactions
were carried on only from Chandigarh and the cheque was                c
 issued and presented at Chandigarh. This Court pointed out
that the complaint did not show that the cheque was presented
 at Delhi, because it was absolutely silent in that regard and,
therefore, there was no option but to presume that the cheque
was presented at Chandigarh. It is not in dispute that the             0
dishonour of the cheque also took place at Chandigarh and,
therefore, the only question which arose before this Court for
consideration was whether the sending of notice from Delhi
 itself would give rise to a cause of action in taking cognizance
 under the N.l. Act. In such circumstances, we are of the view         E
 that Harman Electronics (supra) is only an authority on the
 question where a court will have jurisdiction because only notice
 is issued from the place which falls within its jurisdiction and it
 does not deviate from the other principles laid down in K.
 Bhaskaran (supra). This Court has accepted that the place
 where the cheque was presented and dishonoured has                    F
jurisdiction to try the complaint. In thi~ way, this Court concluded
 that issuance of notice would not by itself give rise to a cause
 of action but communication of the notice would. In other words,
the court clarified only on the service in such notice and failure
on the part of the accused to pay the demanded amount within           G
a period of 15 days, thereafter, the commission of an offence
completes. We are of the view that this Court in Harman
Electronics (supra) affirmed what it had said in K. Bhaskaran
(supra) that court within whose jurisdiction the cheque is
presented and in whose jurisdiction there is failure to make           H
    178      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2013] 7 S.C.R.


A payment within 15 days of the receipt of notice can have
  jurisdiction to try the offence under Section 138 of the N.I. Act.
  It is also relevant to point out that while holding that the
  Chandigarh Court has jurisdiction, this Court in Harman
  Electronics (supra) observed that in the case before it, the
B complaint was silent as to whether the said cheque was
  presented at Delhi. In the case on hand, it is categorically stated
  that the cheque was presented at Bhiwani whereas in Harman
  Electronics (supra) the dishonour had taken place at
  Chandigarh and this fact was taken into account while holding
c that Chandigarh court has jurisdiction. In the complaint in
  question, it is specifically stated that the dishonour took place
  at Bhiwani. We are also satisfied that nothing said in Harman
  Electronics (supra) had adverse impact on the complainant's
  case in the present case.
D       13. As observed earlier, we must note that in K.
  Bhaskaran (supra), this Court has held that Section 178 of the
  Code has widened the scope of jurisdiction of a criminal court
  and Section 179 of the Code has stretched it to still a wider
  horizon. Further, for the sake of repetition, we reiterate that the
E judgment in lshar Alloy (supra) does not affect the ratio in K.
  Bhaskaran (supra) which provides jurisdiction at the place of
  residence of the payer and the payee. We are satisfied that in
  the facts and circumstances and even on merits, the High Court
  rightly refused to exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under.
F Section 482 of the Code and dismissed the petition filed by
  the appellant-accused.

        14. In the light of the above discussion, we hold that the
  ratio laid down in K. Khaskaran (supra) squarely applies to the
G case on hand. The said principle was correctly applied by the
  learned Sessions Judge as well as the High Court.
  Consequently, the appeal fails and the same is dismissed. In
  view of the dismissal of the appeal, the interim order granted
  by this Court on 09.12.2011 shall stand vacated.

H R.P.                                          Appeal dismissed.