IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 877 OF 2011 IN CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. OF 2009 Mrs. Sunita Ramchandra Joshi & Ors. .....Applicant V/S. Shri. Laxman Bayaji Gurav & anr. .....Respondents Mr. Abhijit Tulsankar i/by. Mr. S.J.Ghogare, adv.for the applicant. Mrs. G.P. Mulekar, APP for the State. CORAM :­ Smt. R.P. SondurBaldota, J. 25th August, 2011. P.C. :­ 1. This application is filed seeking leave to prefer appeal against the judgment and order dated 22nd September, 2009 passed by the learned Magistrate in Criminal Case No. 783 of 2006 acquitting respondents no.1 and 2 of the offence punishable under Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act. 2. It is the case of the applicants that applicant no.1 used to prepare short notes for the students of 10th and 12th standard. These notes were given by her to respondent no.2­the proprietor of M/s. Darsam Book Center for sale on credit of 30 days. During the period 1st April, 2002 to 30th March, 2004, respondent no.2 and her employee­ respondent no.1 had accepted the notes prepared by applicant no.1 on credit basis. Later, a cheque was issued by respondent no.1 in the sum of Rs.80,000/­ drawn on Shivneri Co­operative Bank Limited in the name of her husband­applicant no.2. The cheque when presented for payment was dishonoured for the reason account closed”. Thereafter, “ the applicant gave statutory notice to the respondents before filing the present proceedings. The trial Court acquitted the respondents essentially on the ground that the applicants had failed to establish existence of legally enforceable debt towards which the cheque was issued. The cheque had been issued not by respondent no.2 in favour of applicant no.1 but by respondent no.1 in favour of applicant no.2. In these circumstances, the trial court has rightly acquitted the respondents no.1 and 2 on the ground that the applicants have failed to establish legally enforceable debt in discharge of which the cheque in question hasd been issued. Hence, the application for leave to appeal is rejected. [SMT. R.P. SONDURBALDOTA, J]