M/S R.S. Creation Vs M/S Jagdish Chand and Sons… — Cheque Dishonour | Punjab & Haryana HC (2025)

M/S R.S. Creation Vs M/S Jagdish Chand and Sons… — Cheque Dishonour | Punjab & Haryana HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Present appeal and accompanying applications remitted to the learned Sessions Judge, Panipat, to be treated as having been filed under Section 372 Cr.P.C., 1973/Section 413 BNSS, 2023; merits expressly left open for adjudication by the concerned Sessions Court; Registry directed to forward complete records (including paper-book) expeditiously.

Issue for consideration

Whether an appeal against an order of acquittal in a proceeding under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 preferred by the complainant falls within the purview of proviso to Section 372 Cr.P.C./413 BNSS, 2023 — the complainant being encompassed within the definition of 'victim' — thereby obviating the need to procure special leave under Section 378(4) Cr.P.C., 1973/419(4) BNSS, 2023. +1 more

Court's answer

Acting on the dicta of the Supreme Court in M/s Celestium Financial and this Court's pronouncement in Raj Kumar, the Court proceeds on the footing that an appeal against an order of acquittal in a Section 138 NI Act proceeding preferred by the complainant falls within proviso to Section 372 Cr.P.C./413 BNSS, 2023 (the complainant being encompassed within 'victim'), so the complainant is not constrained to seek special leave under Section 378(4) Cr.P.C., 1973/419(4) BNSS, 2023.

Ratio / Principle

The present appeal, alongwith accompanying application(s), is disposed of by remitting it to the learned Sessions Judge, Panipat, with a direction to treat it as having been filed under Section 372 Cr.P.C., 1973/Section 413 BNSS, 2023; the Sessions Judge may entrust the appeal to himself or assign it to another Court of competent jurisdiction for disposal, as per law.

Key takeaways

This Court has not delved into the merits of the appeal or the accompanying applications; the merits are expressly left open for consideration by the concerned learned Sessions Court, which shall adjudicate without being influenced by any observation made hereinabove.ratio¶29
The Registry is directed to send, expeditiously, the complete records of the present appeal (including the paper-book) to the said learned Sessions Judge.ratio¶30

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Negotiable Instruments Act – Appeal against acquittal by complainant – Special leave under S.378(4) Cr.P.C., 1973 vis-à-vis proviso to S.372 Cr.P.C./S.413 BNSS, 2023 – Punjab & Haryana HC (Sumeet Goel J., oral) in CRM-A-1425-2024 (decided 19.09.2025): appellant M/s R.S. Creation, complainant in a S.138 NI Act case, had appealed the acquittal judgment dated 22.08.2024 of the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Panipat, lodging a leave application under S.378(4) Cr.P.C., 1973. Applying the Supreme Court's dicta in M/s Celestium Financial v. A. Gnanasekaran (2025 INSC 804) and this Court's pronouncement in Raj Kumar v. Rajender (CRM-A-826-2025 : 2025:PHHC:079740), the Court recorded that a complainant's appeal against acquittal under S.138 NI Act falls squarely within proviso to S.372 Cr.P.C./S.413 BNSS, 2023, the complainant being encompassed within the expansive definition of 'victim', and is therefore not constrained to pursue the stricter special-leave route under S.378(4) Cr.P.C., 1973/419(4) BNSS, 2023. Eschewing dismissal on this technical infirmity, the Court disposed of the appeal by remitting it, with its applications, to the learned Sessions Judge, Panipat, to be treated as filed under S.372 Cr.P.C., 1973/S.413 BNSS, 2023, who may hear it himself or assign it to another competent court; merits were expressly left untouched for adjudication uninfluenced by observations herein, and the Registry was ordered to transmit the complete records expeditiously.

CRM-A-1425-2024

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

230

CRM-A-1425-2024

Date of decision: 19.09.2025

M/S R.S. CREATION

....APPELLANT

V/s

M/S JAGDISH CHAND AND SONS HUF AND ANR

....RESPONDENTS

CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SUMEET GOEL Present: None for the appellant/applicant.

SUMEET GOEL, J. (Oral)

The substantive prayer made in the present appeal reads, thus: “It is, therefore, respectfully prayed that the present appeal may kindly be accepted and the impugned judgment dated 22.08.2024 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Panipat may kindly be set-aside and the respondent/accused may kindly be convicted and sentenced in accordance with law under the said complaint, in the interest of justice.”

Alongwith an appeal, an application for grant of leave has also been preferred under Section 378(4) Cr.P.C., 1973

I have perused the paper-book.

Before proceeding to consider the application (for grant of special leave to appeal)/appeal, it would be apposite to refer herein to a judgment passed by this Court in CRM-A-826-2025 titled as Raj Kumar vs. Rajender : 2025:PHHC:079740 wherein, this Court, while relying upon the dicta of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in M/s Celestium Financial vs. A. Gnanasekaran Etc. 2025 INSC 804 : 2025(3) RCR (Criminal) 208, has held that an appeal against an order of acquittal in a proceeding under

JATIN 2025.09.19 16:07 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document

CRM-A-1425-2024

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Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 preferred by the complainant, falls squarely within the purview of proviso to Section 372 of Cr.P.C./413 of BNSS, 2023. This judicial enunciation was predicated upon the interpretative understanding that, for the purposes of a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, the complainant is encompassed within the expansive definition of ‘ victim ’ as delineated in the Cr.P.C., 1973/BNSS, 2023. Consequently, the complainant is not constrained to pursue the more stringent procedure of seeking special leave to appeal under Section 378(4) of Cr.P.C., 1973/419(4) of BNSS, 2023. This Court underscored that the scope and ambit of proviso to Section 372 Cr.P.C./413 BNSS are inherently broader and more accommodating when juxtaposed with the comparatively narrower confines of Section 378(4) of Cr.P.C., 1973/419(4) of BNSS, 2023, which mandates the procurement of special leave from the High Court for an appeal against an acquittal in a complaint case.

However, demonstrating a profound commitment to the overarching principles of justice and a determination to preclude mere procedural technicalities from eclipsing the substantive adjudication of the case, this Court, instead of summarily dismissing the appeal on this technical infirmity, judiciously opted to relegate the appeal, along with accompanying application(s), to the concerned Sessions Court.

Ergo; in view of the dicta of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in M/s Celestium Financial (supra) as also the pronouncement of this Court in Raj Kumar (supra); the present appeal, along with accompanying application(s), is disposed of as hereunder:

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CRM-A-1425-2024

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(i) The present appeal, along with accompanying application(s), is remitted to the learned Sessions Judge, Panipat with a direction to treat the same as having been filed under Section 372 of Cr.P.C., 1973/Section 413 of BNSS, 2023. The said learned Sessions Judge may entrust the appeal to himself or assign it to another Court of competent jurisdiction for its disposal, as per law.

(ii) Needless to clarify that this Court has not delved into the merits of the appeal as also along with accompanying application(s); and the same is left open for consideration of the concerned learned Sessions Court, which shall indubitably adjudicate the same without getting influenced by any observation made hereinabove.

(iii). The Registry is directed to send, expeditiously, the complete records of the present appeal (including the paper-book) to the said learned Sessions Judge.

(SUMEET GOEL)

JUDGE

19.09.2025

jatin

Whether speaking/reasoned: Yes/No Whether reportable: Yes/No

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