Gujarat High Court
Mukesh Nandlal Shah vs State Of Gujarat on 27 January, 2026
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.A/1616/2018 ORDER DATED: 27/01/2026
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL (AGAINST ACQUITTAL) NO. 1616 of 2018
With
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1617 of 2018
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R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1618 of 2018
With
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1619 of 2018
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R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1620 of 2018
With
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1621 of 2018
With
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1622 of 2018
With
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1623 of 2018
With
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1624 of 2018
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R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1625 of 2018
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R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1626 of 2018
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R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1627 of 2018
With
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1628 of 2018
With
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1629 of 2018
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MUKESH NANDLAL SHAH
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
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Appearance:
MR AMRISH K PANDYA(3219) for the Appellant(s) No. 1
MR HIMANSHU C DESAI(6832) for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 2,3
MS MEGHA CHITALIYA, APP for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE SANJEEV J.THAKER
Date : 27/01/2026
COMMON ORAL ORDER
1. These are acquittal appeals filed under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred Page 1 of 4 Uploaded by URIL KRISHNAKUMAR RANA(HC01406) on Wed Jan 28 2026 Downloaded on : Tue Feb 03 21:12:54 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1616/2018 ORDER DATED: 27/01/2026 undefined to as `the Code' for short) by the complainant against the judgment and order impugned passed by the learned trial Court, whereby the learned trial Court had acquitted the respondent/s/accused of the charge under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter referred to as the `NI Act' for short).
2. Heard learned advocate for the parties. Learned APP has submitted that these matters are required to be transferred in view of the recent decision of this Court passed in Criminal Misc. Application No.12753 of 2019 with Criminal Misc. Application No.12908 of 2019.
3. Before entering into the merits of this case, this Court deems it proper to refer to the latest decision rendered by this Court in the case of Shivsinh Ganpatsinh Solanki V/s State of Gujarat & Anr. being Criminal Miscellaneous Application Nos. 12753 of 2019 with 12908 of 2019 on 23.12.2025, wherein, after considering the various judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, more particularly, the judgment in the matter of M/s Celestium Financial V/s A.Gyanasekaran etc. reported in 2025 INSC 804, has observed and held that the Complainant, in a complaint under Section 138 of the N.I. Act, being a Victim, has a specific right to appeal under proviso of Section 372 of the Page 2 of 4 Uploaded by URIL KRISHNAKUMAR RANA(HC01406) on Wed Jan 28 2026 Downloaded on : Tue Feb 03 21:12:54 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1616/2018 ORDER DATED: 27/01/2026 undefined Code to the Court which is immediately superior in hierarchy i.e., the Sessions Court. Therefore, the applications for leave to appeal/appeals which are pending before this Court can be disposed of with a direction to transfer the said application/appeal to the concerned Sessions Court.
4. In view of the above, learned advocate for the petitioner requested to transfer these appeals to the concerned Sessions Court.
5. In view of the said request, these appeals aer disposed of with a direction to the Registry to transfer the appeals to the concerned Sessions Court. After they are transferred to the concerned Sessions Court, they have to be treated as Appeals under the proviso under Section 372 of the Code (Section 413 of BNSS) and numbered accordingly. The Registry is directed to transfer the entire record of the case, including the certified copies of the order impugned and record & proceedings, if lying with this Court, to the concerned lower Appellate Court, forthwith.
6. Considering that the matters are pending since the year 2018, the learned lower Appellate Court is required to make endeavour to dispose of the matter as expeditiously as Page 3 of 4 Uploaded by URIL KRISHNAKUMAR RANA(HC01406) on Wed Jan 28 2026 Downloaded on : Tue Feb 03 21:12:54 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1616/2018 ORDER DATED: 27/01/2026 undefined possible, preferably within a period of two years from the date of receipt of the matter. It is clarified that this Court has not gone into the merits of the matter at this stage.
(SANJEEV J.THAKER,J) URIL RANA Page 4 of 4 Uploaded by URIL KRISHNAKUMAR RANA(HC01406) on Wed Jan 28 2026 Downloaded on : Tue Feb 03 21:12:54 IST 2026