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2022 (6) TMI 581 - BOMBAY HIGH COURTDishonor of Cheque - rejection of prayer of the petitioner/appellant to lead additional evidence under section 391 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 - HELD THAT:- In order to appraise the correctness of the exercise of discretion by the appellate court, in the light of the averments in the application, it becomes evident that the sole ground sought to be put-forth by the petitioner-accused is of chancing upon a photostat copy of the cheque in the month of June 2017, post pronouncement of the judgment by the trial court. Interestingly, in paragraph 4 of the application, what the petitioner asserts is that the photostat copy of the cheque was found while dealing with the case documents. The petitioner neither asserts that she was not in possession of the document nor was she unaware of the existence of the said document. Moreover, it is not the case of the petitioner that the photostat copy of the cheque was allegedly found while perusing some other record. In contrast, the petitioner asserts that the photostat copy of the cheque was indeed found while dealing with the case documents. Meaning thereby, while perusing the documents pertaining to the subject prosecution. Secondly, the nature of the documents sought to be adduced by way of additional evidence also assumes importance. A photostat copy by its very nature is vulnerable to allegations of manipulation. Different considerations come into play when a copying process in itself ensures correctness of copy's contents qua the original. In the absence of any contemporaneous material in the nature of acknowledgment or otherwise, a plea that a photostat copy of the instrument in question was found after about 9 years of its execution to bolster up the defence that when the original instrument was delivered, it was in a state, which the photostat suggests, cannot be readily acceded to. In the case at hand, if the petitioner is allowed to lead the evidence, as proposed, it has the propensity to reopen the entire trial, partaking the character, the aspect of the date on which the subject cheque was payable. The learned Additional Sessions Judge committed no error in disallowing the applicant to lead additional evidence. In any event, the exercise of discretion by the learned Additional Sessions Judge is not vitiated by such elements of perversity or unreasonableness as would warrant exercise of extraordinary writ jurisdiction - Petition dismissed.
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