M. Varadharaj vs K. Balasubramaniam — 136/2023

Case Summary: STC 136/2023 Court Decision: The District Munsif cum Judicial Magistrate convicted K. Balasubramaniam under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act for issuing a dishonored cheque. The court sentenced him to six months simple imprisonment and ordered him to pay Rs. 3,50,000 as compensation to M. Varadharaj within one month; failure to pay results in an additional four weeks imprisonment. Key Reasoning: The court found all statutory ingredients proven: Varadharaj loaned Rs. 4,80,650 to Balasubramaniam (May 2018-January 2020); the accused repaid only Rs. 1,30,650; Balasubramaniam issued cheque no. 000130 for Rs. 3,50,000 on July 13, 2022, which was dishonored for insufficient funds on July 14, 2022; legal notice was served July 19, 2022; payment wasn't made within 15 days. The accused admitted issuing the cheque and his signature but failed to rebut the presumption under Sections 118 and 139 of the NI Act through credible defense. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.