HC allowed compounding of offence under Section 138 of...

HC allowed compounding of offence under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, following mutual settlement between petitioner-accused and complainant. The Court exercised discretion under Section 147, overriding general CrPC provisions, and accepted the compromise deed. The impugned judgment of conviction and sentencing order were quashed, effectively acquitting the petitioner-accused. The Court emphasized that compounding is permissible even post-conviction when both parties mutually agree to settlement, consistent with precedential guidelines from apex judicial interpretations.