Compensation under criminal procedure cannot be awarded separately when fine is already part of the cheque dishonour sentence.

Section 357(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure can be invoked only where the sentence does not include a fine. In a cheque dishonour prosecution under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, once the Magistrate imposed a fine, any compensation could be drawn only from that fine under Section 357(1)(b), not as separate compensation under Section 357(3). The First Class Magistrate also lacked power under Section 29(2) of the Code to enhance the fine to cover the full cheque amount on the facts then before the court. The later insertion of Section 143 of the Negotiable Instruments Act removed that ceiling prospectively only, so it did not assist the case.

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Issues: Whether compensation could be awarded under Section 357(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure when the sentence already included fine under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and whether the fine could be enhanced so as to make the cheque amount recoverable as compensation.

Analysis: Section 357(3) applies only where fine does not form part of the sentence. Where a court imposes fine, compensation can, if at all, be drawn from the fine under Section 357(1)(b), but separate compensation under Section 357(3) is impermissible. On the facts, the Magistrate had imposed only a fine of Rs. 2,000/-, which was far below the cheque amount, and the First Class Magistrate then lacked power under Section 29(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure to impose a fine large enough to cover the entire loss. The later insertion of Section 143 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 removed that ceiling for future cases, but did not assist this case.

Conclusion: Compensation could not be awarded under Section 357(3) once fine formed part of the sentence, and the High Court was in declining to interfere with the sentence as modified.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed. The conviction remained undisturbed, but the claim for restoration of compensation or enhancement of fine was not accepted.

Ratio Decidendi: Section 357(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure can be invoked only when the sentence does not include fine, and in cheque dishonour cases the court cannot award separate compensation under that provision once fine has been imposed as part of the sentence.

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