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IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADRAS
N. Anand Venkatesh, J.
L.G.R. Enterprises - Appellant
Vs.
P. Anbazhagan - Respondent
Criminal Original Petition No. 15438 of 2019, 15440 of 2019; Criminal Miscellaneous Petition No. 7576 of 2019, 7578 of 2019
Decided On : 12-07-2019
Negotiable Instruments Act - Section 143A - Pay interim compensation to the complainant – Bank – Claim of compensation - Interim compensation shall be paid within sixty days from date of order under sub-section(1), or within such further period not exceeding thirty days as may be directed by Court on sufficient cause being shown by drawer of cheque - If drawer of cheque is acquitted Court shall direct complainant to repay to the drawer the amount of interim compensation with interest at bank rate as published by Reserve Bank of India, prevalent at the beginning of relevant financial year, within sixty days from the date of the order, or within such further period not exceeding thirty days as may be directed by the Court on sufficient cause being shown by the complainant – Section 143-A of Negotiable Instruments Act was inserted by Act 20 of 2018 and was brought into effect onwards - It will be relevant to extract the reply given by Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, while replying to parliament, on debate that took place at time of introduction of Bill through which this amendment was brought in – Held, Learned counsel therefore submitted that a beneficial legislation which aims at addressing an undue delay in disposal of complaints under Section 138 of Act and which discourages frivolous and unnecessary litigation and which enhances faith in transacting through cheques cannot be defeated by giving a hyper technical interpretation and therefore learned counsel submitted that Court below was perfectly right in directing the accused persons to pay interim compensation - This Court has carefully considered submissions made on either side and the materials available on record - This Court has already derived scope and purport of Section 143A of Negotiable Instruments Act supra - It has to be now applied to facts of present case - A careful reading of order passed by Court below shows that the Court below has focused more on the issue of the prospective / retrospective operation of the amendment - Court has not given any reason as to why it is directing accused persons to pay an interim compensation of 20% to complainant - As held by this Court discretionary power that is vested with the trial Court in ordering for interim compensation must be supported by reasons and unfortunately in this case it is not supported by reasons attempt made by the learned counsel for respondent to read certain reasons into order cannot be done by this Court, since this Court is testing application of mind of Court below while passing the impugned order by exercising its discretion and this Court cannot attempt to supplement it with reasons argued by learned counsel for respondent - This Court took effort of discussing effect and purport of Section 143A of the Negotiable Instruments Act, only to ensure that some guidelines are given to Subordinate Courts which deals with complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act on a regular basis to deal with such petitions effectively and in accordance with law – Petition allowed
JUDGMENT :
N. Anand Venkatesh, J.
In both these cases, the common issue that arises for consideration is regarding the scope and purport of Section 143A of the Negotiable Instruments Act. It will be relevant to reproduce Section 143A of the Negotiable Instruments Act, hereunder:
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), the Court trying an offence under Section 138 may order the drawer of the cheque to pay interim compensation to the complainant--
(a) in a summary trial or a summons case, where he pleads not guilty to the accusation made in the complaint; and
(b) in any other case, upon framing of charge.
(2) The interim compensation under sub-section(1) shall not exceed twenty percent of the amount of the cheque.
(3) The interim compensation shall be paid within sixty days from the date of the order under sub-section(1), or within such further period not exceeding thirty days as may be directed by the Court on sufficient cause being shown by the drawer of the cheque.
(4) If the drawer of the cheque is acquitted, the Court shall direct the complainant to repay to the drawer the amount of interim compensation, with interest at the bank rate as published by the Reserve Bank of India, prevalent at the beginning of the relevant financial year, within sixty days from the date of the order, or within such further period not exceeding thirty days as may be directed by the Court on sufficient cause being shown by the complainant.
(5) The interim compensation payable under this section may be recovered as if it were a fine under section 421 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(2 of 1974).
(6) The amount of fine imposed under section 138 or the amount of compensation awarded under section 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(2 of 1974),shall be reduced by the amount paid or recovered as interim compensation under this section."
2. Section 143-A of the Negotiable Instruments Act was inserted by Act 20 of 2018 and was brought into effect from 01.09.2018 onwards. It will be relevant to extract the reply given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, while replying to the parliament, on the debate that took place at the time of introduction of the Bill through which this amendment was brought in.
3. Along with this amendment, Section 148 of the Negotiable Instruments Act was also brought into force which enabled the Appellate Court to insist for the deposit of 20% of the fine or compensation amount, awa
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