Court Rules Section 143-A Prospective, Overturns Interim Compensation Order for Pre-Amendment Offense.

The court quashed the trial court's order dated 24.12.2018, which directed the accused to deposit interim compensation under Section 143-A(2) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. The petitioner successfully argued that the Amendment Act of 2018, effective from 01.09.2018, was not applicable as the complaint was filed on 25.08.2018. The court agreed that Section 143-A operates prospectively, applying only to offences committed after its enactment, and thus ruled in favor of the petitioner, allowing the petition and setting aside the interim compensation order.

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Issues involved: Challenge to order directing deposit of interim compensation under Section 143-A(2) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 based on the prospective application of the Amendment Act of 2018.

Summary:

Issue 1: Prospective application of Amendment Act of 2018
The petitioner challenged the trial court's order directing the accused to deposit interim compensation under Section 143-A(2) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, dated 24.12.2018. The petitioner argued that the amendment brought into force on 01.09.2018 would not apply to their case as the complaint was filed on 25.08.2018. The petitioner contended that the trial court erred in allowing the application for deposit of interim compensation, as the Amendment Act of 2018 operates prospectively. The court examined Section 143-A of the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2018, which vests the trial court with the power to direct the accused to deposit interim compensation not exceeding 20% of the cheque amount. It further elaborated on the provisions regarding the payment and recovery of interim compensation. The petitioner relied on a judgment by the Apex Court to support the argument that Section 143-A is prospective in operation and can only be applied to cases where the offence was committed after the introduction of the said section in the statute book. As the complaint in this case was filed before the amendment came into force, the court held that the trial court erred in directing the payment of interim compensation under Section 143-A of the Amendment Act of 2018.

Decision:
The court quashed the order dated 24.12.2018 and allowed the petition in favor of the petitioner.

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