https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=252394 Graded costs for belated compounding of cheque dishonour offences under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act ordinarily apply even when parties settle in Lok Adalat, because Section 147 contains no contrary exemption and the deterrent purpose of the costs regime would otherwise be undermined. The settlement mechanism under the Legal Services Authorities Act remains effective, but it does not bypass the compounding-cost framework for delayed settlements. Courts may still reduce or waive the costs where special reasons are recorded and the parties show bona fide settlement, consistent with the discretion recognised in the governing guidelines. en-us Wed, 10 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 28 Oct 2017 10:53:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=252394 Graded costs for belated compounding of cheque dishonour offences under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act ordinarily apply even when parties settle in Lok Adalat, because Section 147 contains no contrary exemption and the deterrent purpose of the costs regime would otherwise be undermined. The settlement mechanism under the Legal Services Authorities Act remains effective, but it does not bypass the compounding-cost framework for delayed settlements. Courts may still reduce or waive the costs where special reasons are recorded and the parties show bona fide settlement, consistent with the discretion recognised in the governing guidelines. Case-Laws Indian Laws Wed, 10 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=252394