TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (10) TMI 153
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....acs) from the complainant for purchasing apples. Subsequently, the accused, in order to liquidate his financial liability towards the complainant, issued cheque, bearing No. 6044682, dated 01.08.2014, amounting to Rs.7,00,000/-, and the complainant presented the same for encashment at Himachal Pradesh State Co-operative Bank. However, the same was dishonored with remarks "insufficient funds". In sequel thereof, on 28.09.2013 the complainant issued a legal notice to the accused demanding his payment, but no payment was made to him by the accused-petitioner. Subsequently, the complainant filed a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (hereinafter, for the sake of brevity, referred to as the "NI Act") before the learned Trial Court. 4. The learned Trial Court after conclusion of the trial convicted the accused under Section 138 of the NI Act and sentenced him to undergo simple imprisonment for six months and to pay a sum of Rs.7,20,000/- as compensation to the complainant. 5. Being dissatisfied, the accused/petitioner/convict preferred an appeal before the learned Lower Appellate Court, which was dismissed and the judgment of the learned Trial Court was upheld....
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.... has been upheld will be rendered inconsequential as the matter stands compromised between Sh. Kanhaiya Lal and Sh. Naresh Kumar. 8. Today, complainant-Shri Kanhaiya Lal Verma is present in person before this Court and his statement is separately recorded and placed on the file. 9. In his statement, complainant-Shri Kanhaiya Lal Verma stated that on the basis of his complaint under Section 138 of the NI Act, bearing Criminal Case No. 83 of2014, titled Kanhaiya Lal Verma vs. Naresh Kumar, the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Karsog, District Mandi, H.P., convicted the petitioner-accused, vide judgment of conviction dated 31.05.2017, and order of sentence dated 02.06.2017 for commission of the offence under Section 138 of NI Act and was sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of six months and to pay a compensation of Rs.7,20,000/- which was affirmed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge-I, Mandi, District Mandi, H.P., Camp at Karsog, vide judgment dated 12.08.2022. He has further stated that during the pendency of the present revision petition, the matter has been amicably settled before the learned Mediator. As per the terms of the settlement, he has aban....
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..... 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 (hereinafter "CrPC") will not be applicable in the strict sense since the latter is meant for the specified offences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860. 11. So far as the CrPC is concerned, Section 320 deals with offences which are compoundable, either by the parties without the leave of the court or by the parties but only with the leave of the Court. Sub-section (1) of Section 320 enumerates the offences which 9 are compoundable without the leave of the Court, while subsection (2) of the said section specifies the offences which are compoundable with the leave of the Court. 12. Section 147 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 is in the nature of an enabling provision which provides for the compounding of offences prescribed under the ....
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....etween the parties, the petitioner should be permitted to compound the offence committed by him under Section 138 of the Code." 13. Since, in the instant case, the petitioner-accused after being convicted under Section 138 of the Act, has amicably settled the matter with the complainant-respondent before the learned Mediator and as per the settlement the complainant-respondent has abandoned and relinquished all his rights and entitlements in respect of the cheque in question forming subject matter of the proceedings under Section 138 of the NI Act, the instant prayer for compounding the offence can be accepted in terms of the aforesaid judgments passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court. 14. Therefore, in view of the detailed discussion made hereinabove as well as law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court, the present matter is ordered to be compounded, as per the terms and conditions, recorded by the learned Mediator and reproduced hereinabove. Accordingly, judgment of conviction, dated 31.05.2017, and order of sentence dated 02.06.2017, passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Karsog, District Mandi, H.P., in Complaint No. 83 of 2014, and affirmed by the learned Additional ....