Accused hiding in NI Act
7 months ago
I had filed a case under the NI Act for a cheque bounce of Rs 12 lakhs on Nov 2020. Have attended a total of 12 hearings so far till date. Barring the first date, the accused has not attended any hearing so far and is in hiding. Till now a total of 6 W.A / WPA has been issued, the address provided by the accused in court (under affidavit) is fake, he has shut his office & does not live in his residence, although the flat is still there in his name. Police reports for the W.A / WPA has verified that.
I have exhausted all my efforts to find the accused or his address, and it's about 3 years now. He is believed to be shifting from one locality to another and is hard to trace him down.
My query is, is it the right time & condition to file for section 82 or 82/4 (not sure of the sections) of CrPC or do I have to wait for more time? Is there any waiting period? Do I have to plead to the court to file sec 82 or will the court decide when it is to be done? And how long does it take for a court to declare him as absconding, under Sec 82 ie from the date of filing?
I understand that Sec 83 is to be followed AFTER Sec 82 is applied to recover the cheque bounce amount through the seizure of his assets.
I am also contemplating filing a money recovery case. Would that be ok?
I am at my wit's end searching for a remedy to get my money back. Are there any options left for me?
Profuse thanks in advance & any expert suggestions or advice would be highly appreciated to help my case.
You can file money recovery suit and get attach his properties if any by filing application Under order 38 Rule 5 CPC and also find out the address without which no court will help you.
Under Sec.82(1) of Cr.PC, If any Court has reason to believe (whether after taking evidence or not) that any person against whom a warrant has been issued by it has absconded or is concealing himself so that such warrant cannot be executed, such Court may publish a written proclamation requiring him to appear at a specified place and at a specified time not less than thirty days from the date of publishing such proclamation. As per Sec.83(1) of Cr.PC, the Court issuing a proclamation under section 82 may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, at any time after the issue of the proclamation, order the attachment of any property, movable or immovable, or both, belonging to the proclaimed person: Provided that where at the time of the issue of the proclamation the Court is satisfied, by affidavit or otherwise, that the person in relation to whom the proclamation is to, be issued,- (a) is about to dispose of the whole or any part of his property, or (b) is about to remove, the whole or any part of his property from the local jurisdiction of the Court, it may order the attachment simultaneously with the issue of the proclamation. In the prevailing situation, when an order of WA fails to produce the accused before the Court, you may seek appropriate relief invoking Sec. 82 and Sec 83 of Cr.PC by making a petition before the Court for speedy recovery of your money. In the facts and circumstances of the case, a civil suit for recovery of money in addition to the existing one may not yield any better result and face the same consequences when the whereabouts of the accused are not traceable.
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