S. RAMACHANDRAN PRASANTHI Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE accused in a prosecution for an offence punishable under section 138 of the NI Act is the revision petitioner as he is aggrieved by the judgment dated 8.6.2010 in S.T. No. 138 of 2008 of the court of Judicial First Class Magistrate -III, Kollam, and the judgment dated 18.10.2012 in Crl. A. No. 238 of 2010 of the court of 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Kollam. Heard the counsel for the revision petitioner and I have perused the orders of the courts below.

(2.) THOUGH this Court is not inclined to interfere with the concurrent findings of the courts below, the counsel for the revision petitioner submitted that some breathing time may be granted to the petitioner for paying the compensation amount, since the revision petitioner is a senior citizen and a sick person, and is depending his daughter for his livelihood. Having regard to the facts and circumstances involved in the case, I am of the view that, the said submission can be considered positively and accordingly 45 days' time can be granted to pay the compensation amount fixed by the lower appellate court. The apex court in a recent decision reported in Damodar S. Prabhu V. Sayed Babalal H. ( : 2010(4) JT SC 457) has held that, "In the case of dishonour of cheques, the compensatory aspect of the remedy should be given priority over the punitive aspects". According to me, the lower appellate court while considering the question of sentence and the compensation amount, the sentence of imprisonment is reduced from 6 months to one day simple imprisonment and at the same time, the compensation amount is enhanced and fixed as Rs.1,30,000/ -. If that be so, in the light of the above decision, according to me, no interference is warranted with respect to the sentence as well as the compensation amount fixed by the appellate court and the revision petitioner can be granted 45 days' time to pay the compensation amount, especially in the light of the submission of the counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner has already been arrested and produced before the court below on 7.1.2013 and he had kept in the court for the day.