Mandatory 20% deposit under cheque dishonour appeal law applies even to pending cases filed before amendment.

Section 148 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 was interpreted as requiring a mandatory minimum deposit of 20% of the fine or compensation in an appeal against conviction under Section 138. The court read the amended provision as leaving no discretion to reduce the statutory deposit below that threshold, relying on its text and object of curbing delay and protecting the payee of a dishonoured cheque. The amendment was also treated as applicable to pending appeals even where the complaint had been filed before the amendment, because no vested substantive right of appeal was taken away and the non obstante clause overrode the general Criminal Procedure Code rule.

---

---

Issues: Whether the condition requiring deposit of 20% of the fine amount under Section 148 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, in an appeal against conviction under Section 138 of the Act, is mandatory and applicable to complaints filed before the 2018 amendment.

Analysis: Section 148, as amended, was construed in the light of its text and object to curb delay in cheque dishonour proceedings and to protect the payee of a dishonoured cheque. The provision was read as conferring no discretion on the appellate court to reduce the minimum deposit below 20% of the fine or compensation awarded by the trial court. The amendment was also held applicable to appeals arising from complaints filed before the amendment, since no vested substantive right of appeal was taken away and the interpretation was required to further the legislative object. The opening non obstante clause was treated as overriding the general rule under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Conclusion: The requirement to deposit 20% was held to be mandatory and applicable to the petitioner's case, and the challenge to the deposit condition failed.

Final Conclusion: The impugned condition directing deposit of 20% of the fine amount was upheld, and the criminal petition was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Section 148 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, requires a minimum deposit of 20% of the fine or compensation in an appeal against conviction under Section 138, and the amended provision applies to pending appeals even where the complaint was instituted before the amendment.

---