Cheque dishonour offences can be compounded at the revisional stage, with conviction set aside on compromise and costs imposed.

Offences relating to cheque dishonour under the Negotiable Instruments Act may be compounded even at the revisional stage when the parties settle the dispute and the complainant accepts payment. Once compounding is allowed, the conviction and sentence under Section 138 ordinarily cannot survive, so the revisionist's conviction was set aside. Because the compromise was reached at a belated stage, the Court applied the settled approach on delayed compounding and imposed costs payable to the complainant and the Legal Services Committee.

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Issues: Whether the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 could be compounded at the revisional stage on the basis of compromise, and whether the conviction and sentence were liable to be set aside on such compounding with costs.

Analysis: The revision was filed against the affirmed conviction under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. The parties placed a compromise before the Court, and the complainant acknowledged receipt of the cheque amount and expressed no to continue the prosecution. The decision relied on the settled position that offences under the Negotiable Instruments Act are compoundable at any stage, and that once compounding is permitted, the conviction under Section 138 ordinarily cannot stand. The Court also applied the guidelines governing delayed compounding and, because compounding was sought at a belated stage, imposed costs payable to the complainant and the Legal Services Committee.

Conclusion: The offence was permitted to be compounded on terms, and the conviction and sentence affirmed by the appellate court were set aside in favour of the revisionist.

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