The central legal point established in the judgment is that compounding of the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 cannot be permitted without the consent of the complainant.

VIKRAM AGGARWAL, J.

1. The present petition, preferred under Section 482 Cr.P.C., assails the order dated 14.02.2023 (Annexure P-1), passed by the Sessions Judge, Fatehgarh Sahib, vide which the criminal revision filed by the petitioners against the order dated 14.11.2022 (Annexure P-4) was dismissed.

2. The respondent-complainant filed a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (for short ‘the N.I.Act’) read with Section 420 IPC against the present petitioners on account of dishonour of a cheque amounting to Rs.20,368/-. During the pendency of the complaint, the petitioners moved an application dated 02.06.2022 (Annexure P-3) for compounding of the offence and for consequential discharge of the petitioners. It was the stand of the petitioners that without going into the merits of the case, they were ready to deposit the cheque amount. Reply to the said application was filed but vide order dated 14.11.2022 (Annexure P-4), the trial Court dismissed the application. A revision petition challenging this decision was preferred which was dismissed vide judgment dated 14.02.2023 (Annexure P-1), leading to the filing of the present petition.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that both the Courts below erred in dismissing the application for compounding the offence as well as the revision petition filed by the petitioners. It has been submitted that when the petitioners were willing to pay the entire cheque amount alongwith interest etc., as determined by the Court, there was no occasion for the Court to reject the same. Reliance has been placed upon the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court in M/s Meters and Instruments Private Limited & Anr. versus Kanchan Mehta 2017 AIR (SC) 4594.

4. I have considered the submissions made by learned counsel for the parties.

5. Section 147 of the N.I.Act states that every offence punishable under the N.I.Act shall be compoundable. This provision was interpreted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of JIK Industries Limited & Ors. vs. Amarlal V. Jumani and Another 2012 (1) R.C.R. (Criminal) 822 wherein it was held by the Hon’ble Apex Court that the offences under the N.I.Act have been made compoundable but the main principle of such compounding, namely, the consent of the person aggrieved or the person injured or the complainant cannot be wished away nor the same can be substituted by virtue of Section 147 of the N.I.Act. While holding so, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India laid down as under:-

“73. In our country also when the Criminal Procedure Code, 1861 was enacted it was silent about the compounding of offence. Subsequently, when the next Code of 1872 was introduced it mentioned about compounding in Section 188 by providing the mode of compounding. However, it did not contain any provision declaring what offences were compoundable. The decision as to what offences were compoundable was governed by reference to the exception to Section 214 of the Indian Penal Code. The subsequent Code of 1898 provided Section 345 indicating the offences which were compoundable but the said Section was only made applicable to compounding of offences defined and permissible under Indian Penal code. The present Code, which repealed the 1898 Code, contains Section 320 containing comprehensive provisions for compounding. A perusal of Section 320 makes it clear that the provisions contained in Section 320 and the various sub-sections is a Code by itself relating to compounding of offence. It provides for the various parameters and procedures and guidelines in the matter of compounding. If this Court upholds the contention of the appellant that as a result of incorporation of section 147 in the Negotiable Instruments Act, the entire gamut of procedure of Section 320 of the Code are made inapplicable to compounding of an offence under the Negotiable Instruments Act, in that case the compounding of offence under Negotiable Instruments Act will be left totally unguided or un