Disposed

M/S Mahindra Building Material Supplier v. State of NCT of Delhi & Anr.

Delhi HC15 Jul 2025CRL.L.P./228/2022

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Leave-to-appeal petitions filed by cheque-dishonour complainants against acquittals were converted to victim appeals under the proviso to Section 372 CrPC, relying on Celestium Financial, and the record was transferred to the Court of Sessions with expedited disposal requested.

What did the court decide?

Petitions treated as appeals under proviso to Section 372 CrPC; records transferred to Appellate Court of Sessions; parties to appear on 25.08.2025.

M/S Mahindra Building Material Supplier Vs State of NCT of… — Cheque Dishonour | Delhi HC (2025)

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$~42 to 45

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* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

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+ CRL.L.P. 228/2022

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M/S MAHINDRA BUILDING MATERIAL SUPPLIER .....Petitioner Through: Mr. P.K. Bhardwaj, Adv. (through VC)

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versus

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STATE OF NCT OF DELHI & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Sunil Kumar Gautam, APP for the State Mr. Pankaj Jaiswal, Adv. (through VC)

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CRL.L.P. 229/2022 MAHENDER KUMAR SHARMA .....Petitioner Through: Mr. P.K. Bhardwaj, Adv. (through VC)

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versus

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STATE OF NCT OF DELHI & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Sunil Kumar Gautam, APP for the State Mr. Pankaj Jaiswal, Adv. (through VC)

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+ CRL.L.P. 230/2022

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M/S MAHINDRA BUILDING MATERIAL SUPPLIER .....Petitioner Through: Mr. P.K. Bhardwaj, Adv. (through VC) versus

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STATE OF NCT OF DELHI & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Sunil Kumar Gautam, APP for the State Mr. Pankaj Jaiswal, Adv.

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 02/08/2025 at 13:01:03

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(through VC)

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+ CRL.L.P. 233/2022

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MAHENDER KUMAR SHARMA .....Petitioner Through: Mr. P.K. Bhardwaj, Adv. (through VC)

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versus

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STATE OF NCT OF DELHI & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Sunil Kumar Gautam, APP for the State Mr. Pankaj Jaiswal, Adv. (through VC)

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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT MAHAJAN O R D E R

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% 15.07.2025

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The present leave to appeals are filed under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (‘ CrPC ’) against the judgement dated 18.12.2021, passed by the learned Metropolitan Magistrate (‘ MM ’), South-West District, Dwarka Courts, New Delhi, whereby Respondent No. 2 was acquitted of the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (‘ NI Act ’) in Complaint Case Nos. 5003004/2016, 5003009/2016, 5003006/2016 and 5003008/2016 respectively.

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At the outset, the learned counsel for the petitioners states that in view of the judgment of the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Celestium Financial v. A. Gnanasekaran : 2025 SCC OnLine SC 1320, the petitioners being the victims are entitled to file appeals against the judgment of acquittal and are not required to seek leave to appeal. He submits that the present petitions be transferred to the learned Court of Sessions to be treated as appeals.

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The Hon’ble Apex Court in the recent decision in

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This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 02/08/2025 at 13:01:03

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Celestium Financial v. A. Gnanasekaran ( supra ) has opined that a complainant who prefers a complaint under Section 138 of the NI Act is an aggrieved party who suffers economic loss due to dishonour of cheque, and such a complainant qualifies as a victim within the meaning of Section 2(wa) of the CrPC. Consequently, it was held that such a complainant is entitled to the benefit of the proviso of Section 372 of the CrPC, enabling them to maintain an appeal against an order of acquittal without seeking leave to appeal under Section 378(4) of the CrPC.

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The petitioners were the complainants in the complaints preferred under Section 138 of the NI Act, thus are entitled to maintain an appeal under Section 372 of the CrPC against the judgments of acquittal. 5. In terms of proviso to Section 372 of the CrPC, an appeal by a victim against the judgment of acquittal passed by the learned MM will have to be heard by the learned Court of Sessions. If the petitions are allowed to continue before this Court, the parties will stand to lose a forum of challenge. 6. In view of the above, the present matters are disposed of with direction that the present petitions be treated as appeals under proviso to Section 372 of the CrPC and numbered accordingly. 7. The Registry is directed to transfer entire record of the cases to the concerned Appellate Court of Sessions. 8. The order be communicated to the learned Principal District & Sessions Judge for compliance and listing before the concerned Appellate Court on 25.08.2025. 9. The parties are directed to appear before the learned Appellate Court on 25.08.2025.

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