↗️
HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
Rani Gaur vs. State Of U.P. And 4 Others
CRIMINAL REVISION No. – 2047 of 2023
Delivered on 24.5.2023
A Magistrate can drop proceedings against an accused under the Negotiable Instruments Act if he offers a fair and acceptable amount, which, in the opinion of the court is appropriate for duly compensating the complainant.
The bench of Justice Jyotsna Sharma observed thus while referring to the Supreme Court’s 2017 ruling in the case of M/s Meters and Instruments Private Limited and Another vs. Kanchan Mehta wherein the top Court had observed that an accused in a case under Section 138 of NI Act can be discharged even without the consent of the complainant if the Court is satisfied that the complainant has been duly compensated.
*“The Supreme Court did not say that the requirement of consent for compounding may just be done away with. Instead, widening the compensatory aspect of cases filed under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act, the Apex Court has carved out a window in the existing scheme of things saying that the case can be disposed of without obtaining direct consent of the complainant under certain circumstances. The circumstances included offering an amount fair and acceptable which in the opinion of the court is appropriate for duly compensating the complainant. That is under certain circumstances the court can pro