NI Act: Appeal under Sec 482 CrPC not maintainable, says Karnataka HC

The court added that as per law laid down by the Apex Court, the high court can entertain the petitions filed under CrPC section 482 for quashing the FIR

The high court has said that an aggrieved party cannot maintain a petition under Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code before the high court against the order of conviction and sentence passed by the trial court in a cheque bounce case under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act.

Justice K Natarajan has noted that when trial courts pass orders while exercising power under Section 255 of CrPC, the aggrieved person is required to file an appeal under Section 374 (2) of CrPC before the sessions judge, the first appellate court, which is required to re-appreciate evidence on record and pass the final judgment.

The petition is filed by one Vuppalapati Sathish Kumar, a director of Hyderabad-based Prithvi Information Solutions Ltd. The petitioner was arraigned as one of the accused in a case under NI Act filed before the 27th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court, Bengaluru.

VTH Source Components Limited, a Bengaluru-based company had supplied electronic components to VMC Systems Limited in 2017.

Thereafter, the petitioner company (Prithvi Information Solutions) had issued a cheque for Rs 1.61 crore as a guarantor and the cheque was dishonored in June 2017. On a complaint filed by VTH Source Components Limited, Bengaluru, the trial court had convicted the petitioner and imposed a fine of Rs 1.70 crore on
January 2, 2023.

The petitioner had challenged the trial court order in a petition filed under CrPC Section 482. The high court said that the appeal against the trial court order will have to be filed under CrPC section 374(2) before the sessions judge and thereafter, the aggrieved parties can approach high court under CrPC Section 397, if any concurrent finding of both the courts. The court further said that as per the law laid down by the Apex Court, the high court can entertain the petitions filed under CrPC section 482 for quashing the FIR.

“It appears the accused are following these back door tactics in order to avoid the interim compensation going to be imposed by the first appellate court under Section 148 of NI Act. Therefore, I am of the view that the petition filed under Section 482 of CrPC is not maintainable. The office objection is sustained. Hence, the petition is dismissed as not maintainable,” the court said.