Personal attendance in cheque-bounce summons cases may be dispensed with, while non-bailable warrants remain a last resort.

Sections 205 and 317 CrPC give the Magistrate wide discretion to dispense with an accused's personal attendance in summons cases, including complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The summons procedure contemplates appearance either personally or through counsel, and evidence may be recorded in the presence of the pleader when attendance is exempted. Coercive process, including non-bailable warrants and proceedings under Sections 82 and 83 CrPC, should generally be reserved for situations where the accused fails to comply without reasonable cause or where presence is truly necessary for the progress of the case. The court should adopt a liberal approach, seek undertakings where appropriate, and avoid routine insistence on personal appearance.

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Issues: Whether, in a summons case arising under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, the accused must remain personally present on every date of hearing, and whether the Magistrate should exercise the powers under Sections 205 and 317 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to dispense with personal attendance and avoid resort to non-bailable warrants except when presence is imperatively required.

Analysis: Sections 205 and 317 of the Code confer wide discretion on the Magistrate to dispense with personal attendance at the commencement of the proceedings and during inquiry or trial, respectively. The summons form itself contemplates appearance either in person or through pleader, and Section 273 recognises that evidence may be taken in the presence of the pleader where personal attendance is dispensed with. The power to issue warrant under Section 87 and to invoke coercive process under Sections 82 and 83 is available, but ordinarily only where the accused fails to obey summons without reasonable cause or where his presence becomes necessary for the progress of the case. In complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, the Court should act generously and liberally, require an undertaking from the accused where appropriate, and ensure that the proceedings are not delayed by insisting on routine personal attendance. Non-bailable warrants should not be issued in the first instance and should be used as a last resort.

Conclusion: The accused in summons cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 can be granted exemption from personal appearance, including at the initial stage and on subsequent dates, subject to judicial discretion and suitable safeguards; issuance of non-bailable warrants should ordinarily be avoided unless the presence of the accused is indispensably required.

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