TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (9) TMI 346
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....No. 4- S/10 of 2019, whereby the judgment of conviction dated 07.12.2018 and order of sentence dated 17.12.2018, passed by leaned Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Court No. 7, Shimla, H.P., in Case No. 37/3 of 2014, was affirmed. 2. The brief facts, giving rise to the present petition, can succinctly be summarized as under: 3. On 28.02.2012 the petitioner/accused-Pinky Rana borrowed a sum of Rs.1,30,000/- from the complainant/respondent-Rajbir Singh by giving a receipt and amount of Rs.1,50,000/-, through cheque bearing No. 512986 of PNB Shimla, dated 10.09.2012, drawn on 12.09.2012 and amount of Rs.55,000/-, through UCO Bank, Dhalli, cheque bearing No. 781862, dated 19.02.2013, drawn on dated 23.02.2013, in favour of Diksha Rana, daugh....
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.... preferred the instant petition under Section 397 read with Section 401 Cr.P.C. with a prayer that her petition may be allowed and the impugned judgments and order of sentence passed by the learned Courts below may be set-aside and she be acquitted. 6. During the pendency of the instant petition, an application (Cr.MP No. 3000 of 2023) under Section 147 of the NI Act has been filed by the petitioner-accused with a prayer to compound the offence under Section 138 of the NI Act. 7. On 26.07.2023, complainant-Rajbir Singh as well as the petitioner-Pinky Rana were present in person before this Court and the statement of complainant, who was duly represented and identified by Mr. Mohar Singh, Advocate, is separately recorded and placed on ....
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....s in terms of guidelines issued by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Damodar S. Prabhu V. Sayed Babalal H., (2010) 5 SCC 663, wherein the Hon'ble Apex Court has held as under:- "10. At present, we are of course concerned with Section 147 of the Act, which reads as follows:- "147. Offences to be compoundable- Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), every offence punishable under this Act shall be compoundable." At this point, it would be apt to clarify that in view of the non-obstante clause, the compounding of offences under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 is controlled by Section 147 and the scheme contemplated by Section 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (....
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....f the provisions contained in Section 147 of the Act read with Section 320 of Cr.P.C., compromise arrived at can be accepted even after recording of the judgment of conviction. The relevant portion of the judgment is reproduced as under:- "6. Thereafter a compromise was entered into and the petitioner claims that he has paid Rs. 4,52,289 to the respondent. In support of this claim, the petitioner has produced an affidavit sworn by him on 1.12.2008. The petitioner has also produced an affidavit sworn by P. Kaliappan, Power of attorney holder of R. Rajathi on 1.12.2008 mentioning that he has received a sum of Rs. 4,52,289 due under the dishonoured cheques in full discharge of the value of cheques and he is not willing to prosecute th....
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....id judgments passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court. 13. Therefore, in view of the detailed discussion made hereinabove as well as law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court, the parties are permitted to get the matter compounded in light of the compromise arrived inter se them. 14. Accordingly, the present matter is ordered to be compounded and the impugned judgment of conviction dated 07.12.2018 and order of sentence dated 17.12.2018, passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Court No. 7, Shimla, H.P., in Case No. 37-3 of 2014, and affirmed by learned Additional Sessions Judge-I, Shimla, H.P., vide judgment dated 30.04.2022, in Criminal Appeal No. 4-S/10 of 2019, are quashed and set-aside and the petitioner-accused is acqu....
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....n for compounding with the Legal Services Authority, or such authority as the Curt deems fit. (c) Similarly, if the application for compounding is made before the Sessions Court or a High Court in revision or appeal, such compounding may be allowed on the condition that the accused pays 15% of the cheque amount by way of costs. (d) Finally, if the application for compounding is made before the Supreme Court, the figure would increase to 20% of the cheque amount. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 25. The graded scheme for imposing costs is a means to encourage compounding at an early stage of litigation. In the status quo, valuable time of the court is spent on the trial of these cases and the parties are not li....