Karnataka High Court
Manjunath Ganapathi Hegde vs Sathish Gurumoorthi Bhat on 3 March, 2025
Author: Mohammad Nawaz
Bench: Mohammad Nawaz
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NC: 2025:KHC:9059
CRL.RP No. 490 of 2024
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 3RD DAY OF MARCH, 2025
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE MOHAMMAD NAWAZ
CRIMINAL REVISION PETITION NO. 490 OF 2024
(397(Cr.PC) / 438(BNSS))
BETWEEN:
MANJUNATH GANAPATHI HEGDE
S/O GANAPATHI HEGDE,
AGED ABOUT 54 YEARS,
R/AT NO. 283, 4TH 'B' CROSS,
10TH MAIN, RPC LAYOUT, VIJAY NAGAR,
BENGALURU 560 040
...PETITIONER
(BY SRI. HITESH GOWDA B.J., ADVOCATE)
AND:
SATHISH GURUMOORTHI BHAT
S/O POOJARI,
AGED ABOUT 49 YEARS,
R/AT NO.10, KRISHNAPA KUTTI BUILDING,
Digitally 3RD FLOOR, 9TH CROSS,
signed by
LAKSHMI T 4TH MAIN ROAD,
Location: S.R. NAGAR, BENGALURU 560 027
High Court
of Karnataka ...RESPONDENT
(BY SRI. HEGDE VISHWANATH SUBRAHMANYA, ADVOCATE)
THIS CRL.RP IS FILED U/S. 397 R/W 401 OF CR.P.C
PRAYING TO SET ASIDE THE DISMISSAL ORDER PASSED BY
THE LXXIII ADDL. CITY CIVIL AND SESSIONS JUDGE,
MAYOHALL UNIT, BENGALURU (CCH-74) IN CRIMINAL APPEAL
NO.25162/2022 DATED 15.02.2024 AND THE ORDER OF
CONVICTION AND SENTENCE IN C.C.NO.53511/2015 PASSED
BY THE HONBLE XVII ADDL. JUDGE, COURT OF SMALL CAUSES
AND ADDL. CHIEF METROPOLITAN MAGISTRATE, MAYOHALL
UNIT, BENGALURU (SCCH-21) DATED 01.01.2019.
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NC: 2025:KHC:9059
CRL.RP No. 490 of 2024
THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ADMISSION, THIS DAY,
ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER:
CORAM: HON'BLE MR JUSTICE MOHAMMAD NAWAZ
ORAL ORDER
The order dated 15.02.2022 passed by the Court of
LXXIII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge Mayo-hall Unit,
Bengaluru in Crl.A.No.25162/2022, thereby rejecting the
application seeking condonation of delay in preferring the said
appeal is under challenge in this revision petition.
2. Learned Magistrate vide judgment dated
01.01.2019 passed in C.C.No.53511/2015 convicted the
accused / revision petitioner for the offence punishable under
Section 138 of the NI Act and sentenced him to pay fine of
Rs.20,00,000/-, in default, to undergo Simple Imprisonment for
a period of 6 months.
3. The appeal preferred by the accused before the
Sessions Court was accompanied with an application for
condonation of delay in preferring the appeal. The learned
Sessions Judge vide impugned order has rejected the said
application, observing that the delay is not properly explained
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nor the accused has produced any document in support of the
reasons assigned by him for preferring the appeal belatedly.
The medical document issued by one Jyothi Homeo clinic in
support of the contention of the accused that he was suffering
from ill health, was not accepted, observing that the period
referred in the said medical document is during the pendency of
the appeal and therefore, it is no way helpful to the case of the
accused in proving the contention.
4. A perusal of the impugned order would go to show
that, the application was filed for condoning the delay of 438
days in preferring the appeal. It is the contention of the learned
counsel for respondent that in fact, the delay is much more
than 428 days and even otherwise the learned Sessions Judge
has rightly rejected the prayer to condone the delay by
assigning proper reasons, as each days delay was not explained
by the accused while preferring the appeal.
5. The learned counsel for revision petitioner has
brought to the notice of the Court that initially the Sessions
Court was pleased to condone the delay by allowing the
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application and therefore, it was not proper in once again
deciding the application and rejecting the same.
6. A perusal of the order sheet maintained by the
Appellate Court shows that on presentation of the appeal, the
Appellate Court vide order dated 18.07.2022, condoned the
delay in preferring the appeal and stayed the impugned order
passed by the Trial Court, directing the accused to deposit 20%
of the fine amount within a period of 50 days.
7. It is no doubt, the Sessions Court has assigned
reasons while rejecting I.A.No.1 seeking condonation of delay
in filing the appeal vide order dated 15.02.2024. However, the
fact remains that initially the delay in preferring the appeal was
condoned by the Sessions Court and the order of the Trial Court
was also stayed subject to deposit of 20% of the fine amount.
The learned counsel for revision petitioner / accused, would
submit that the said 20% of the fine amount was deposited
before the Appellate Court.
8. Having once condoned the delay in preferring the
appeal, the Sessions Court could not have heard the application
once again and rejected the same. The appeal should have
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been heard and disposed on merits. Statutory appeal would lie
before the Sessions Court against judgment of conviction
passed by the learned Magistrate in a case of this nature. The
appellant has to be given a reasonable opportunity to argue the
appeal on merits, particularly when an application seeking
condonation of delay was allowed.
9. Respondent's counsel has brought to the notice of
the Court, the application filed on behalf of the accused before
the Trial Court under Section 147 of the NI Act, signed by both
parties, wherein the accused had agreed for settlement.
10. The above document is part of the record and
therefore, it is open for the respondent / complainant to rely on
it at the time of hearing of the appeal.
11. For the foregoing reasons, the revision petition
deserves to be allowed, subject to payment of cost as the
appeal was filed before the Sessions Court belatedly.
ORDER
i) The revision petition is allowed, subject to
payment of cost of Rs.5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand only)
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which shall be paid by the accused to the complainant before
the Trial Court on the next date of hearing.
ii) Order dated 15.02.2024 passed by the Court of
LXXIII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge Mayo-hall Unit,
Bengaluru in Crl.A.No.25161/2022 is set aside.
iii) The Appellate Court shall hear the appeal on merits.
iv) Both the parties are directed to appear before the
Appellate Court on 21.03.2025.
Sd/-
(MOHAMMAD NAWAZ)
JUDGE
LDC
CT:SNN
