Neeraj Kumar Sinha vs . P. Srikanth on 20 January, 2020
22. With respect to the defence of the accused that the signature on
the cheque in question were forged, section 73 of the Evidence Act clothes a
CC No. 468131/16
Neeraj Kumar Sinha V. P. Srinakth 17 / 25 20th January, 2020
Court with the requisite powers for referring to and comparing the admitted
signatures. The accused admits his signature at Ex CW1/A, Ex DW1/A to DW1/C
and also in DW2/A colly. It is of course true that when there is a serious dispute,
Courts should not arrogate to themselves the power to decide and determine the
genuineness of signatures, handwritings and thump impressions without expert
opinion by its own naked eye comparison. The Court may be referred to as the
expert of experts, but no finding of a Court should ordinarily rest solely on the
comparison made by the Court under Section 73 of the Evidence Act in the
absence of evidence of any expert. That is however,not the situation in the facts of
the instant case. The reason for return in the present case on which the complaint
was filed was "funds insufficient". Section 146 of NI act states that the Bank's slip
is a prima facie evidence of the reason for dishonor, until and unless disproved.
Though, the accused in the present case had moved an application for examination
of his signature's by an expert, which was dismissed by the Ld. Predecessor of this
Court, yet the accused nowhere explained as to why he did not contact his bank
when the cheque was presented for the first time and why he chose not to stop the
payment, when according to him he had already made the payments, even though
the cheque in question was presented for the second time three months after it was
presented for the first time. The accused himself admits in his cross examination
that he gave Ex CW2/2 dated 05.04.2012 to the witness CW2, which were not
presented in the bank at his instruction. In Ex CW2/2 colly, it is stated by the
accused that he has lost his cheques bearing no. 031766 to 031770, which included
the cheque in question.