Kamal Kumar Vs Bharat Bhushan — Cheque Dishonour | Punjab & Haryana HC (2025)

Kamal Kumar Vs Bharat Bhushan — Cheque Dishonour | Punjab & Haryana HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Leave-to-appeal application under Section 378(4) Cr.P.C./Section 419(4) BNSS disposed of with directions to the learned Sessions Judge, Jind to treat it as an appeal filed under Section 372 of the Cr.P.C., entrust the same to an appropriate Court to decide the appeal on merits as per law expeditiously; the Appellate Court need not adhere to any delay aspect; Registry directed to transmit copy of the order alongwith complete paperbook and record of the case to the learned Sessions Judge, Jind forthwith; pending miscellaneous application(s), if any, also stand disposed of.

Issue for consideration

Whether the complainant in a privately instituted criminal complaint (here, under Sections 138/142 NI Act) whose acquittal appeal application was filed under Section 419(4) BNSS, 2023 / Section 378(4) Cr.P.C. is to be treated as a 'victim' entitled to maintain the appeal against acquittal under the proviso to Section 372 Cr.P.C. (corresponding Section 413 BNSS, 2023), i.e. whether the victim's right lies under Section 372 or Section 378(4) Cr.P.C.

Court's answer

Having considered the Apex Court's recent mandate in Celestium Financial and the matching views of this Court in M/s Associated Road Carriers Limited and of a Co-ordinate Bench in Satish Kumar, this Court finds no ground to take a different view: the complainant in a private-complaint acquittal case is to be treated as a 'victim' who may file the appeal against acquittal under Section 372 Cr.P.C. (proviso; corresponding Section 413 BNSS, 2023), the erstwhile Section 372 vs Section 378(4) debate having been put to rest.

Ratio / Principle

The present application under Section 378(4) Cr.P.C. is disposed of by directing the learned Sessions Judge, Jind, to treat the present leave to appeal as an appeal filed under Section 372 of the Cr.P.C. and entrust the same to any appropriate Court to try the same; the concerned Court shall decide the appeal on merits as per law, as expeditiously as possible.

Key takeaways

Since similar directions are being passed by this Court in a number of cases, the concerned Appellate Court need not adhere to the delay aspect, if any, involved in the case, for the purpose of considering the issue raised in the appeal and its disposal on merit.ratio¶23

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Punjab & Haryana High Court (Sanjay Vashisth, J.), Order dated 07.07.2025 in CRM-A-18-2025 (Kamal Kumar v. Bharat Bhushan): The applicant-complainant had sought leave to appeal under Section 419(4) BNSS, 2023 (corresponding Section 378(4) Cr.P.C.) against his acquittal dated 30.11.2024 by the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Jind in Complaint CIS No.NACT-70-2017 under Sections 138/142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. Relying on the Supreme Court's mandate in M/s Celestium Financial v. A. Gnanasekaran (2025 SCC OnLine SC 1320), which affirmed that a complainant in a privately instituted proceeding is a 'victim' (Section 2(wa) Cr.P.C.) entitled to appeal against acquittal under the proviso to Section 372 Cr.P.C. (corresponding Section 413 BNSS, 2023) — putting to rest the earlier Section 372 vs Section 378(4) debate noted with reference to Mallikarjun Kodagali (2019) 2 SCC 752 — and concurring with this Court's decision in M/s Associated Road Carriers Ltd. v. Manjit Singh (CRM-A-885-MA-2013) and the Co-ordinate Bench decision in Satish Kumar v. Jugal Kishor (CRM-A-2700-MA-2018), the Court found no ground to take a different view. The application was disposed of by directing the Sessions Judge, Jind to treat the leave to appeal as an appeal under Section 372 Cr.P.C., entrust it to an appropriate Court for decision on merits expeditiously; the Appellate Court was directed not to adhere to any delay aspect; and the Registry was ordered to transmit the order, paperbook and record to the Sessions Judge, Jind forthwith.