Devon Foods Ltd. vs Suneesh Sukumaran Advocate - E. M . Suresh — 100148/2023

Case Summary: Devon Foods Ltd. v. Suneesh Sukumaran (S.T No. 148/2023) The Judicial First Class Magistrate-II, Ettumanoor acquitted Suneesh Sukumaran of cheque dishonour charges under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, finding that Devon Foods Ltd. failed to discharge its initial burden of proof. The court held that critical evidence was lacking: no distributor agreement was produced, the ledger and tax invoices (Ext.P8) contained blank delivery columns and zero MRP entries rendering them unreliable, and the complainant failed to prove the cheque's execution and issuance as consideration for a legally enforceable debt. Though statutory requirements under Section 138 were satisfied and the accused did not dispute his signature on the cheque, insufficient evidence of the underlying transaction proved fatal to the prosecution's case. The accused was acquitted and released. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.