C482/1884/2022
2022 Latest Caselaw 3352 UK

                Office Notes,
             reports, orders or
SL.           proceedings or
      Date                                     COURT'S OR JUDGES'S ORDERS
No             directions and
             Registrar's order
              with Signatures
                                  C-482 No. 1884 of 2022
                                  Hon'ble Sharad Kumar Sharma, J.

Mr. Abhishek Verma, Advocate for the applicant.

Mr. Atul Kumar Sah, learned Deputy Advocate General along with Ms. Mamta Joshi, learned Brief Holders for the State.

The judgment of conviction, in a proceedings under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, was rendered on 18.07.2021, by the Judicial Magistrate/1st Additional Civil Judge, Haridwar, who had imposed a total penalty of Rs. 8 lacs and a fine of Rs. 10,000/-, which has been directed to be deposited within a period of two months.

Only a partial challenge which was given to the said judgment by the learned counsel for the applicant on the ground, that the appellate order, which has issued the directions for depositing 20% of the amount by the impugned order dated 16.08.2022, may be slightly modified, and be limited to the extent of depositing 20% of the principal amount and a fine.

The said arguments of the learned counsel for the applicant, seems to be quite tenable because for the purposes of Section 148 of Negotiable Instruments Act, the directions of the amount of 20% to be deposited, is contemplated for "fine or compensation", it means that the 20% of the amount has to be deposited out of either the fine or the compensation and the principal amount.

In that eventuality, the directions given to deposit 20% of the amount, would be inclusive of fine only, as well as the principal amount.

Accordingly, the said order stand modified to that extent, and the direction given to deposit the said amount to the applicant, within a period of two months, is extended, to be deposited within a period of three months from the date of the order.

Subject to the aforesaid, present C- 482 application stand disposed of.

(Sharad Kumar Sharma, J.) 17.10.2022 Mamta