MR RAMESH CHAND ARORA vs RITU MAIRA AND ORS.

Judgment text excerpt

$~96 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Date of Decision: 21st April, 2026 + CRL.M.C. 3018/2026 & CRL.M.A. 12275/2026 & CRL.M.A. 12276/2026 MR RAMESH CHAND ARORA .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Prashan Sodhi, Mr. Randeep Sachdeva, Mr. Shivaang Gupta, Mr. Sohhom Sau, Mr. Mukund Sharma & Mr. Dhruv Pande, Advs. versus RITU MAIRA AND ORS. .....Respondent Through: Mr. Anil Kr. Batra, Mr. Dhruv Kumar & Mr. Sharn Bala,Advs. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ JAIN J U D G M E N T (oral) 1. Respondent Ritu Maira had filed a complaint under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, way back in the year 2019. 2. The complaint was based on one Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated 22.02.2018, executed between respondent and the accused persons and, in terms of such MoU, the complainant had lent Rs. 25,00,000/- to the accused company on 22.02.2018 by way of a cheque drawn on Indian Overseas Bank. However, when the “repayment of the loan” was sought by the complainant, it was put off on one pretext or another. Eventually, when the cheque was issued by the accused company, it returned dishonored with the remarks ‘funds insufficient’. A statutory legal notice was served upon the accused persons on Signature Not Verified Signed By:SONIA THAPLIYAL CRL.M.C. 3018/2026 1 Signing Date:23.04.2026 11:49:17 09.08.2019 and since the legal notice did not yield any result, the abovesaid complaint was filed. 3. The complaint is already at the stage of final arguments. 4. It was at that stage only that the accused filed an application under Section 311 Cr.P.C. seeking examination of the Assessment Officer of Income Tax Authority, so that the Income Tax Returns (ITRs) of the complainant, for the relevant financial years during which the alleged transaction had taken place, are placed on