[2026:RJ-JD:13090]

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR S.B. Criminal Misc(Pet.) No. 1851/2026 Hari Singh S/o Shri Amar Singh, Aged About 78 Years, R/o Village Hirnawali 18 Ml, Tehsil And District Sriganganagar Raj ----Petitioner Versus Gopal S/o Shri Motan Das, R/o 53 G Block, Sriganganagar Raj ----Respondent For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Tirupati Chandar Mr. Abhishek Aggarwal For Respondent(s) : Mr. Vikram Rajpurohit, PP HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE FARJAND ALI

Order

18/03/2026

1. By way of filing the instant misc. petition, a challenge has been made to the order dated 17.12.2025 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Sri Ganganagar in Criminal Appeal No.317/2025 whereby the application under Section 389 of Cr.P.C. filed by the petitioner was allowed with the condition to deposit

20% of fine amount.

2. Heard learned counsel for the parties and gone through the material as made available to this Court.

3. After conviction under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act, the petitioner moved an appeal along with an order dated 17.12.2025 imposing a condition of depositing 20% of the fine amount awarded by the trial Court.

2. The grievance of the petitioner is that in view of the mandate of law and the judgment passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Jamboo Bhandari Vs. M.P. State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. reported in (2023) 10 SCC 446, the direction to deposit 20% of the compensation amount is discretionary in nature and, therefore, the petitioner may be directed to deposit

10% of the cheque amount.

3. A co-ordinate Bench of this Court in S.B. Criminal Misc. Petition No. 7315/2024 (Pradeep Tusawda Vs. Bheraram Khatik) decided on 21.10.2024 has held that the requirement of deposit of 20% under Section 148 of the N.I. Act is not absolute and the appellate court can relax or dispense with such condition in appropriate cases to avoid frustration of the right of appeal.

4. In view of the limited prayer made, the legal position governing the field and the law enunciated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court as well as by this Court, this Court deems it appropriate to make a limited modification in the impugned order.

5. Accordingly, the present petition is partly allowed and the order dated [date] passed by the learned appellate court is modified to the extent that the petitioner shall deposit 10% of the cheque amount instead of 20% of the fine/compensation amount, within the period stipulated by the learned appellate court.

6. However, in case the period so stipulated has already expired, the learned court below shall, upon presentation of a certified copy of this order, grant a further period of 10 days to the petitioner for depositing the aforesaid amount.

7. All pending applications, if any, stand disposed of.

(FARJAND ALI),J

163-chhavi/-