‘Examination of accused should be allowed by handwriting expert’

CHANDIGARH: The accused in a cheque bounce case should be allowed examination by a handwriting expert if contradictory claims are made by the parties on purpose for which cheque was given, the Punjab and Haryana high court has ruled.

“...if the permission to examine the handwriting expert is not permitted on the ground that the holder has the authority to fill the body of the cheque, then the accused cannot even begin to establish his defence that a cheque issued as security has been filled up by someone other than him and misused. Thus, it would be unfair to shut out the defence of the accused at the threshold by not allowing the examination of the cheque in question by a handwriting expert,” the bench of Justice JS Bedi said.

The court was dealing with a plea from one Rajesh Rana, who had approached the high court in July 2019 after a judicial magistrate declined his application for examination by the fingerprint and handwriting expert.

The FIR pertained to October 2014 filed under the Negotiable Instruments Act against Rajesh Rana and some other persons on the allegation that the petitioner issued a cheque of Rs 15 lakh to one Parmod Kumar in August 2013, which was dishonoured on account of ‘insufficient funds’.

The accused had claimed that a blank cheque was given to one Subhash Chand, who was a commission agent as a security to supply paddy as the company was running a rice mill, but that cheque was misused by the complainant in connivance with Chand and that he had no liability towards the complainant.

During the trial, the accused filed an application for calling the fingerprint and handwriting expert, but same was dismissed on the ground that since the accused had admitted that he had signed the cheque, the deposition of the expert witness was not required to compare the writing on the body of the cheque in question with handwriting of the signatory. The HC observed that when a contention is raised that the complainant has misused the cheque by filling up the body of the same, an opportunity must be granted to the accused for adducing evidence in rebuttal as the law places burden on the accused.