Cheque Dishonour Compounding After Conviction Accepted where full payment and compromise justified recall of prior revisional order.

An offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 may be compounded at any stage, including after conviction and dismissal of criminal revision, where the complainant accepts full payment and consents to compounding. Applying the wide scope of Section 147 NI Act and the settled position on post-conviction compromise, the Himachal Pradesh HC recalled the earlier revisional order, quashed the conviction and sentence, and acquitted the accused. The Court treated the compromise and complete satisfaction of the cheque liability as sufficient to terminate the prosecution and remove the criminal liability arising from the cheque dishonour proceedings.

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Issues: Whether the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 could be compounded after conviction and after dismissal of the criminal revision, on the basis of compromise and full payment of the cheque amount, and whether the earlier revisional order could be recalled under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 read with Section 147 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

Analysis: The parties placed on record a compromise and it was stated that the entire amount awarded had been paid to the complainant, who expressed no objection to compounding. The Court relied on the statutory width of Section 147 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, which permits compounding of an offence under Section 138 at any stage, and on the settled position that a compromise can be accepted even after conviction. The Court also noted that the earlier revisional order did not create an impediment to recall in the facts of the case, and that the accused had complied with the payment obligations arising from the proceedings.

Conclusion: The offence was held compoundable and the earlier revisional order was recalled. The conviction and sentence passed by the courts below were quashed and set aside, and the petitioner was acquitted of the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

Final Conclusion: The compromise was given effect to, resulting in setting aside of the criminal liability and termination of the prosecution against the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: An offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 may be compounded at any stage, and where the complainant accepts full payment and consents to compounding, the prior conviction can be recalled and the accused acquitted.

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