IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT

CHANDIGARH

Sr. Cases No. Petitioner(s) Respondent(s)

No.

01 CRM-M-28757-2025 V.K. TEJ VEER AND

CONSTRUCTION ANOTHER

AND ANOTHER

02 CRM-M-38097-2025 HARVINDER SUSHIL KUMAR

SINGH SAGGU AND ANOTHER

03 CRM-M-56991-2025 DHARAM SINGH SUMIT SINGLA

04 CRM-M-8777-2025 NAVDEEP KRISHAN SINGH

SHARMA

05 CRM-M-42330-2025 ATUL GOYAL MAHI PAL AND

ANOTHER

06 CRM-M-61537-2025 RAGHUVIR RAJYOG

ALIAS

RAGHUBIR

SINGH

1. Date when Order was reserved 23.12.2025 2. Date of Pronouncement of Order 26.12.2025 3. Date of uploading Order 26.12.2025

4. Whether operative part or full Order FULL

is pronounced

5. Delay, if any, in pronouncing of full NOT APPLICABLE

order, and reasons thereof

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY VASHISTH

Present: Mr. H.S. Randhawa, Advocate, Amicus Curiae.

For the petitioner(s): Mr. Amardeep Singh Mann, Advocate

(in CRM-M-8777-2025)

Ms. Bhumika Khatri, Advocate,

for Mr. Vineet Dhanda, Advocate

(in CRM-M-28757-2025) Mr. L.S. Sidhu, Advocate (in CRM-M-56991-2025)

for the petitioner(s).

For the respondent(s): Mr. Sourav Goyal, Advocate

(in CRM-M-38097-2025)

Mr. Kanwaljeet Singh, Advocate, and

Mr. Satvir Singh, Advocate

(in CRM-M-56991-2025)

SANJAY VASHISTH, J.

1. This common order would decide aforementioned six petitions, as the primary issue involved therein is same.

2. These petitions, under Section 528 of the BNSS, 2023, have been filed by the petitioner(s) assailing the order(s) passed by the concerned Appellate Court(s) while deciding the application(s) for suspension of sentence, filed by the petitioner(s) alongwith the appeal(s) preferred by them against the judgement of conviction and order of sentence passed by the Trial Court, while deciding complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (for short, ‘the NI Act’).

In all the cases, respective Appellate Court(s), while allowing the application(s) and suspending the sentence during pendency of the appeal(s), subjected the appellant(s)/petitioners herein to deposit 20% of the amount of compensation imposed by the Trial Court, within stipulated time. Feeling aggrieved, the petitioner(s) have approached this Court by filing the aforementioned petitions.

3. For the sake of brevity, the basic details of these three petitions have been summed up in tabular form, as under:-

(i) CRM-M-28757-2025:-

1. Complaint No. 989 of 2021, CIS No.

NACT/2268/2021, under Section 138 of the NI Act.

2. Judgment of conviction 22.01.2025, passed by Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Hisar (Trial Court)

3. Criminal Appeal No. CRA-58-2025

4. Date of impugned order 18.02.2025, passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Hisar (Appellate Court)

The relevant portion of the impugned order dated

18.02.2025, reads as under:-

“ Appellant-accused suffered a statement that he will pay the 20% of total compensation amount of Rs. 11 lacs in the Court on the next date of hearing and in case of not depositing said amount, he shall have no objection if sentence imposed by learned Trial Court is executed against him. Hence, the appellant is directed to deposit the 20% of compensation of the amount of Rs. 11 lacs in the Court on the next date of hearing. It is hereby made clear that the said amount shall be released subject to the decision of the appeal.”

(ii) CRM-M-38097-2025:-

The relevant portion of the impugned order dated

28.05.2025, reads as under:-

“ Perusal of judgment dated 25.04.2025 also reveals that the appellant was directed to pay an amount of Rs. 5,25,000/- as compensation. In the view of the provisions of Section 148 of Negotiable Instruments Act and in the light of judgment of Hon’ble Apex Court in Surinder Deswal @ Col. S.S.Deswal Vs. Virender Gandhi 2020 INSC 21, the appellant is directed to deposit 20% of the total amount of compensation awarded by the learned Trial Court within 60 days from today. It is made clear that on failure of the appellant to make the payment of 20% of the compensation amount within the stipulated period, the order of suspension of sentence shall be automatically vacated.