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2025 Supreme(Online)(P&H) 4303
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
Sanjay Vashisth, J
Palwinder Kumar Dhir (since deceased) through LRs – Appellant
Versus
Narinder Pal – Respondent
CRM-A-1710-2024
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Mr. Kapil Khanna
For the Respondents:
Victims have the right to appeal against acquittals in private complaint cases under Section 372 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Headnote:(A) Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 - Sections 372, 378(4) - Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 - Sections 138, 139, 141, 142, 143, 147 - Appeal against acquittal - The court upheld the right of a victim to file an appeal against acquittal in complaint cases under Section 372, clarifying previous ambiguities stemming from Supreme Court rulings. (Paras 3-6)
(B) Earlier view - The court referred to the ongoing debate regarding the classification of victims' rights to appellate actions. The confusion has been settled by recent Supreme Court judgments. (Paras 2-4)
Facts of the case:
The applicant sought leave to appeal following an acquittal that dismissed his complaint filed under relevant sections of the Negotiable Instruments Act pertaining to dishonored cheques.
Findings of Court:
The leave to appeal was treated as an appeal under Section 372, directing the Appellate Court to decide the matter on merit without adherence to delay.
Issues: Whether a victim has the right to appeal an acquittal under Section 372 or 378(4).
Ratio Decidendi: The court concluded that the victim's status under the law allows them to file an appeal against acquittal, clarifying the procedural pathway under criminal law jurisdictions.
Result: Leave to appeal granted.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. application for leave to appeal following a judgment of acquittal. (Para 1) |
| 2. clarification of victim's rights under section 372 concerning appeals. (Para 2) |
SANJAY VASHISTH, J.
1. Applicant – Palwinder Kumar Dhir (since deceased) through LRs has filed the present application seeking grant of leave to appeal against the judgment of acquittal dated 08.11.2024, passed by learned Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Nakodar, in Complaint case bearing No. NACT-167-2019, instituted on 09.08.2019, under Section(s) 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 read with Section 420 IPC, titled as ‘Palwinder Kumar Dhir (since deceased) through LRs v. Narinder Pal’, whereby the complaint filed by the applicant(s) herein has been dismissed by acquitting the accused.
2. Shorn off the factual matrix of the present case, it is suffice to notice that in the recent mandate of law laid down by Hon’ble the Apex Court, in the case of M/s Celestium Financial v. A. Gnanasekaran etc. [Criminal Appeal Nos. 1868-70 of 2025, decided on 08.04.2025, reported as 2025 (3) RCR (Criminal) 208 : Law Finder Doc Id # 2737710 : 2025 SCC OnLine SC 1320], their Lordships’ have answered the issue in affirmative that whether an appeal would be maintainable under the proviso to Section 372 Cr.P.C. (corresponding Section 413 of BNSS, 2023), against an order of acquittal passed in a case instituted upon a private complaint, by treating the complainant in such a proceeding as a ‘victim’ within the meaning ascribed to the term under Section 2(wa) of the Cr.P.C.
PRASHANT KAPOOR 2025.09.24 09:00
3. After encapsulating in detail the provisions of Sections 2(d), (n) & (wa), 24, 200, 372, 377, 378, 386 of the Cr.P.C.; Sections 138 , 139, 141, 142, 143 and 147 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 ; and the earlier view point of the Hon’ble Supreme Court taken in the case of Mallikarjun Kodagali (dead) represented through Legal representative v. State of Karnataka, (2019) 2 SCC 752 , an ongoing debate whether the right of the victim to file an appeal against acquittal in a complaint case would fall under Section 372 or Section 378 (4) of Cr.P.C., has been put to rest. Succinctly, in Celestium Financial’s case (supra) it has been held that the ‘victim’ has a right to file an appeal under Section 372 of Cr.P.C. before the Court of Sessions.
4. It is apposite to mention here that the judgment in the case of Celestium Financial (supra) has been followed and relied upon by this Court in the case of M/s Associated Road Carriers Limited v. Manjit Singh and others (CRM-A-885-MA-2013, decided on 07.07.2025) as well as by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the case of Satish Kumar v. Jugal Kishor (CRM-A-2700-MA-2018, decided on
02.07.2025)
5. Having gone through the recent mandate of Hon’ble the Apex Court in Celestium Financial’s case (supra), and the view taken by this Court in the case of M/s Associated Road Carriers Limited (supra) as well as by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the case of Satish Kumar (supra), there exists no ground to take a different view in the present case.
6. Accordingly, the present application is disposed of by directing the learned Sessions Judge, Jalandhar, to treat the present leave to appeal as an appeal filed under Section 372 of the Cr.P.C. (corresponding Section 413 of BNSS, 2023) and entrust the same to any appropriate Court to try the same. The concerned Court shall decide the appeal on merits as per law, as expeditiously as possible.
Since similar directions are being passed by this Court in number of cases, the concerned Appellate Court need not to adhere to the PRASHANT KAPOOR 2025.09.24 09:00 delay aspect, if any, involved in the case, for the purpose of considering the issue raised in the appeal and its disposal on merit.
7. The Registry is directed to transmit this order alongwith copy of the complete paper-book of this case, as also return the record of the Trial Court, if received, to the learned Sessions Judge, Jalandhar
