Compounding or Compromise in cases of Cheque-Dishonour under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
Section 138 - Compounding of offence - Principles of Compounding of Offence of Cheque Dishonour - "In appropriate cases, the offence u/s 138 of the NI Act could be compounded even in absence of such consent" - The Judgment in JIK Industries Limited and others vs. Amarlal V. Jumani & another [2012] GCtR 6483 (SC) has not been overruled in Meters and Instruments Pvt Ltd v Kanchan Mehta [2017] GCtR 602 (SC), since the judgment has been passed in two different sets of facts - When writ of summons is issued, the accused is made to know that he could make an application for compounding the offence at the first or second date of hearing of the case and that if such an application is made, the compounding may be allowed by the Court without imposing any costs on the accused - Thus, the accused is made to believe that if he files an application for compounding offence at the initial stage of the case, the compounding will not only be allowed but will be allowed without imposing costs - In normal circumstances, when the application for compounding offences u/s 138 of the NI Act is made at the initial stage of the case and if the complainant is duly compensated, the trial Court will be fully justified in compounding the offence without consent of the complainant - In cases of NI Act, 1881, the complainant’s interest lies primarily in recovering the money rather than seeing the drawer of the cheque in jail - With respect to the offence of dishonour of cheque, it is compensatory aspect of the remedy which should be given priority over the punitive aspect - The concept of “duly compensated” will have to be considered, understood and answered in the light of the provisions of the N.I. Act. - In appropriate cases, a piecemeal compromise and compounding is permissible. - Anuradha Kapoor v. State of Maharashtra [2023] GCtR 2516 (Nagpur, Bombay)
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