SURESH CHANDRA SONI Vs. AJEET JAIN AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Accused-Petitioner has preferred this revision petition under Section 397/401 Cr.P.C. to challenge judgment dated 01.09.2016 passed by Special Judge, SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Cases, Udaipur (for short, 'learned appellate Court'), whereby learned appellate Court has confirmed judgment dated 01.10.2015, rendered by Special Judicial Magistrate (N.I. Act Cases) No.3, Udaipur (for short, 'learned trial Court'). The learned trial Court, by its verdict dated 01.10.2015, indicted accused-petitioner for offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (for short, 'Act') and handed down sentence of two years' simple imprisonment and directed him to pay a sum of Rs. 3,00,000/- to the complainant as compenastion. Being aggrieved by the same, petitioner approached learned appellate Court but his that effort did not fructify to his advantage and the learned appellate Court dismissed his appeal. This sort of situation has necessitated filing of this revision petition. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that now rival parties have sorted out their dispute and compromise has been arrived at. With this positive assertion, learned counsel has urged that both the impugned judgments be annulled and sentence handed down by learned trial Court and confirmed by learned appellate Court be set aside.

(2.) Learned Public Prosecutor on the other hand submits that although offence under Section 138 of the Act is compoundable but after verdict of learned appellate Court, it may not be appropriate to grant indulgence to the petitioner.

(3.) Learned counsel for the complainant, while acknowledging the compromise having been arrived at between the parties, would urge that looking to the nature of offence and in the wake of settlement of dispute between the rival parties, the conviction recorded by the learned trial Court and upheld by the learned appellate Court merits annulment.