Vinod Kumar v. Maninder Singh @ Rocky
Case brief
What is this about?
Punjab & Haryana High Court, CRM-A-672-2020 (O&M), decided 05-09-2025 by Justice Ramesh Kumari (oral). Complainant Vinod Kumar's application for leave to appeal against acquittal of accused Maninder Singh @ Rocky in a Section 138 NI Act cheque-dishonour complaint case. Holds: a Section 138 NI Act complainant is a 'victim' under Section 2(wa) Cr.P.C. and can appeal against acquittal under the proviso to Section 372 Cr.P.C. without special leave under Section 378(4) Cr.P.C., following M/s Celestium Financial v. A. Gnanasekaran (2025 INSC 804) and Rajat Deep v. Prince (CRM-A1320-MA-2016, 21.07.2025). Directions: Sessions Judge to first decide the Section 5 Limitation Act application; if allowed, treat the appeal as under the proviso to Section 372 and assign to an appropriate Court. Keywords: NI Act, cheque dishonour, complainant as victim, acquittal appeal, proviso to Section 372, Section 378(4), Section 5 Limitation Act, leave to appeal.