Amicable settlement allows compounding of offenses under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, leading to acquittal of the accused.

ORDER

This criminal revision petition has been filed challenging the judgment of conviction and the order of sentence imposed on the revision petitioner/accused in C.C. No. 89/2014 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Vatakara. The said case was instituted on the basis of a complaint alleging the commission of an offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (hereinafter referred to as the “N.I. Act”).

2. After the trial, the learned Magistrate found the accused guilty of the offence under Section 138 of the N.I. Act, and he was convicted and sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs.3,55,000/-. The fine amount, if paid or realised, was directed to be given to the complainant as compensation under Section 357 (1)(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure .

3. Aggrieved by the said judgment, the accused preferred an appeal.

The learned Sessions Judge, upon hearing the appeal, confirmed the conviction but modified the sentence, directing the accused to undergo imprisonment till the rising of the court and to pay a fine of Rs.3,00,000/-, with a default clause to undergo simple imprisonment for three months. Out of the fine amount, if paid or realised, Rs.2,95,000/- was ordered to be paid to the complainant as compensation.

4. When the matter was taken up for hearing, the learned counsel appearing for both sides submitted that the matter involved in this case had been amicably settled between the parties, and that the complainant had agreed to settle the matter for a sum of Rs.2,00,000/-. It was further submitted that the agreed amount had already been paid to the complainant.

5. The parties jointly filed a petition under Section 147 of the N.I. Act seeking to compound the offence. The compounding petition appears to have been filed voluntarily, and the matter stands legally settled between the parties. As the offence under Section 138 of the N.I. Act is compoundable; this Court accepts the compounding petition.

6. Moreover, based on the submissions made by the learned counsel on both sides and upon perusal of the copy of the settlement agreement entered into between the parties and made available before me for perusal, it is evident that an amount of Rs.25,000/- has already been deposited by the accused before the jurisdictional Magistrate in compliance with the order of the Sessions Court and the complainant had pemitted the the accused to withdraw the said amount from the court.

7. In view of the compounding of the offence, the accused is acquitted under Section 320 (8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure . The bail bond executed by the accused shall stand cancelled, and he is set at liberty.

In light of the submissions made by the learned counsel for the complainant and the terms of the settlement agreement, the accused is permitted to withdraw the sum of Rs.25,000/- deposited before the learned Magistrate Court.