Cheque dishonour compounding may be limited to the complaint cheques, with payment of amount, interest and costs.

In cheque dishonour matters under the Negotiable Instruments Act, compounding under Section 147 may be confined to the cheques actually forming the subject matter of the complaint. Proceedings under Section 138 are treated as quasi-criminal, and compounding may be approved where the accused has compensated the complainant by paying the cheque amount with interest and litigation expenses. The complainant cannot demand that compounding extend to amounts beyond the cheques pleaded in the complaint. This approach reflects the settled practice in compounding disputes arising from dishonoured cheques.

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Issues: Whether the order compounding the offence under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, confined to the cheques that formed the subject matter of the complaint and directing payment of the cheque amount with interest and litigation expenses, called for interference in proceedings under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: The complaint was founded on dishonour of the cheques that were actually presented and formed the subject matter of the proceedings. Compounding under Section 147 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 was upheld on the footing that proceedings under Section 138 of the Act are quasi-criminal and that the court may permit compounding where the accused has duly compensated the complainant. The order directing payment of the total cheque amount along with interest and litigation expenses was treated as consistent with the settled approach governing compounding in cheque dishonour matters. The complainant could not insist that compounding be extended to amounts beyond the cheques involved in the complaint.

Conclusion: The order compounding the offence and limiting relief to the cheque amount in the complaint was upheld, and no interference was warranted under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Final Conclusion: The petition challenging the compounding order failed, and the magistrate's order remained undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: In a cheque dishonour case, compounding may be confined to the cheques actually forming the subject matter of the complaint, and the court may approve compounding where the accused has duly compensated the complainant by payment of the cheque amount with appropriate interest and costs.

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