https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=757812 A criminal court may record a lawful and voluntary settlement in a Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act proceeding even if the matter was not first referred to mediation. The decisive requirement is that the court satisfies itself that the compromise is entered into freely, without force, pressure or undue influence; once judicially accepted and acted upon, the settlement binds the parties. If there is default, recovery may be pursued through the mechanisms contemplated by Sections 421 and 431 CrPC. A settlement recorded on oath before the trial court and partly performed by the parties was treated as enforceable, and refusal to act on it was held unsustainable. en-us Fri, 02 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 02 Sep 2024 17:55:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=757812 A criminal court may record a lawful and voluntary settlement in a Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act proceeding even if the matter was not first referred to mediation. The decisive requirement is that the court satisfies itself that the compromise is entered into freely, without force, pressure or undue influence; once judicially accepted and acted upon, the settlement binds the parties. If there is default, recovery may be pursued through the mechanisms contemplated by Sections 421 and 431 CrPC. A settlement recorded on oath before the trial court and partly performed by the parties was treated as enforceable, and refusal to act on it was held unsustainable. Case-Laws Indian Laws Fri, 02 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=757812