IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT JABALPUR BEFORE HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE ACHAL KUMAR PALIWAL th ON THE 7 OF JULY, 2025 CRIMINAL APPEAL No. 2032 of 2025 MANSOOR ALI KHAN Versus DR. SAVYASACHI GUPTA Appearance:

Shri Anuj Agrawal - Advocate for the respondent. Shri Prateek Tiwari - Advocate for the respondent.

ORDER This appeal has been filed under Section 378 (4) of Code of Criminal Procedure by “victim” against judgment dated 21.10.2021 passed by JMFC, Bhopal in Criminal Case No.783 of 2018, whereby respondent/accused has been acquitted of an offence under Section 138 of Negotiable Instrument Act.

2. Aforesaid criminal case was instituted on the basis of private complaint filed by the victim/appellant.

3. The question before this Court is whether instant appeal is covered under proviso to section 413 of BNSS (372 of Cr.P.C .).

4. Aforesaid issue has been recently dealt with and adjudicated by Hon’ble Apex Court in Celestium Financial Vs. A. Gnanasekaran Etc. , 2025 SCC Online SC 1320.

5. The central issue arising for adjudication in Celestium Financial (supra) was, whether an appeal would be maintainable under the proviso to Signature Not Verified Signed by: VAISHALI Section 372 o