Non-bailable warrants need recorded grounds of evasion; exemption refusal alone does not justify coercive criminal process.
In a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, non-bailable warrants are not justified merely because an exemption from personal appearance is refused; they require recorded reasons showing absconding, refusal to obey summons, or deliberate evasion after due service. Likewise, coercive process under Sections 82 and 83 of the Code of Criminal Procedure can be invoked only where the accused is shown to be genuinely evading court process or has gone underground. On the facts described, no such material existed, so the coercive orders were set aside and the accused was directed to appear before the trial court and seek regular bail.
Issues: (i) Whether non-bailable warrants could be issued against an accused in a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, when he had appeared through counsel and sought exemption from personal appearance; (ii) Whether process under Section 82 and Section 83 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 could be initiated against such accused in the absence of material showing absconding or deliberate evasion of court process.
Issue (i): Whether non-bailable warrants could be issued against an accused in a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, when he had appeared through counsel and sought exemption from personal appearance.
Analysis: The order issuing non-bailable warrants was tested against the settled procedural approach that warrants of arrest are not to be issued merely because an application for exemption from personal appearance is rejected. In proceedings of this nature, the normal course is issuance of summons, and a warrant can be justified only where the court records reasons showing that the accused has been absconding, will not obey summons, or has refused to appear despite due service. The facts did not disclose any such basis.
Conclusion: The issuance of non-bailable warrants was not justified and could not be sustained.
Issue (ii): Whether process under Section 82 and Section 83 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 could be initiated against such accused in the absence of material showing absconding or deliberate evasion of court process.
Analysis: Process under Sections 82 and 83 is a coercive step meant for a person who is genuinely absconding or evading process. Where the accused was represented through counsel and the record did not establish that he had gone underground or was avoiding the court, the statutory preconditions for invoking such process were absent. The court therefore found the initiation of proceedings under those provisions to be unwarranted.
Conclusion: The process under Sections 82 and 83 could not be initiated on the facts disclosed.
Final Conclusion: The challenged coercive orders were set aside, the accused was directed to appear before the trial court and seek regular bail, and the proceedings were otherwise concluded.
Ratio Decidendi: In a complaint case, rejection of an exemption application does not by itself justify non-bailable warrants or coercive process under Sections 82 and 83 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 unless the court records a factual basis of absconding, refusal to obey summons, or deliberate evasion.
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