[Cites 4, Cited by 0]
Gujarat High Court
Arunbhai Bhagvanjibhai Pujara vs State Of Gujarat on 24 March, 2026
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.A/974/2010 ORDER DATED: 24/03/2026
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 974 of 2010
With
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 2380 of 2008
With
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1239 of 2013
With
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1240 of 2013
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ARUNBHAI BHAGVANJIBHAI PUJARA
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
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Appearance:
MR HARESH H PATEL(611) for the Appellant(s) No. 1
MR JM BAROT(143) for the Appellant(s) No. 1
MR ASHISH M DAGLI(2203) for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 2,3
MR YUVRAJ BRAHMBHATT, APP for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE SANJEEV J.THAKER
Date : 24/03/2026
ORAL ORDER
1. These are the acquittal appeals filed under Section
378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter
referred to as `the Code' for short) / under Section 419 of
the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (hereinafter
referred to as 'BNSS' for short) by the complainant against
the judgment/s and order/s 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
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R/CR.A/974/2010 ORDER DATED: 24/03/2026
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APP has submitted that this 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
Code / Section 413 of the BNSS to the Court which is
immediately superior in hierarchy i.e., the Sessions Court.
Therefore, the applications for leave to appeal/appeal(s) which
are pending before this Court can be disposed of with a
direction to transfer the said application/appeal(s) to the
concerned Sessions Court.
4. In view of the above, learned advocate for the
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.A/974/2010 ORDER DATED: 24/03/2026
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petitioner requested to transfer the appeals to the concerned
Sessions Court.
5. In view of the said request, these appeals are
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
and issue notice to the parties. 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 have been pending
for considerable time, the learned lower Appellate Court is
required to make endeavour to dispose of the matters as
expeditiously as possible, but preferably within a period of
two years from the date of receipt of this order. It is
clarified that this Court has not gone into the merits of the
matters at this stage.
(SANJEEV J.THAKER,J)
M.H. DAVE
