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TMI Blog2024 (3) TMI 1324X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... peals challenging a conviction and sentence, the Supreme Court found that while it was no doubt true that under the amended Section 148 of the N.I. Act, the word used in the context of exercising the discretion is may , it is generally to be construed as a rule or shall and it was only in exceptional cases, for which special reasons had to be assigned, that an Appellate Court could refrain from issuing a direction to deposit the prescribed percentage of the fine or compensation awarded by the trial court. The express provisions of Section 148 of the N.I. Act, as amended, and its stated object as discernible from the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Amendment Act No.20 of 2018. Applications disposed off. - THE HONOURABLE DR. JUSTICE A.K. JAYASANKARAN NAMBIAR AND THE HONOURABLE DR. JUSTICE KAUSER EDAPPAGATH FOR THE APPELLANT : ADV.SRI.P.SAMSUDIN PANOLAN, ADV.SRI.MILAN RACHEL MATHEW, ADV.SMT.LIRA A.B., ADV.SMT.NASRIN WAHAB, ADV.M.SHAJU PURUSHOTHAMAN, ADV.SRI.K.S.RAJESH, ADV.SRI.JACOB GEORGE (PARAVUR), ADV.SRI.SEBASTIAN.K.C. FOR THR RESPONDENT : SRI.ALEX M. THOMBRA, PUBLIC PROSECUTOR ORDER D r. A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar, J. The above cases have been placed before us by an orde ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng precedents of the Supreme Court in Surinder Singh Deswal and Jamboo Bhandari (supra). 5. Section 148 of the N.I. Act reads as under: 148. Power of Appellate Court to order payment pending appeal against conviction (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), in an appeal by the drawer against conviction under section 138, the Appellate Court may order the appellant to deposit such sum which shall be a minimum of twenty per cent. Of the fine or compensation awarded by the trial court: PROVIDED that the amount payable under this sub-section shall be in addition to any interim compensation paid by the appellant under section 143A. (2) The amount referred to in sub-section (1) shall be deposited within sixty days from the date of the order, or within such further period not exceeding thirty days as may be directed by the Court on sufficient cause being shown by the appellant. (3) The Appellate Court may direct the release of the amount deposited by the appellant to the complainant at any time during the pendency of the appeal: PROVIDED that if the appellant is acquitted, the Court shall direct the complainant to repay to the appellant t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ding twenty per cent of the amount of the cheque; and (ii) to insert a new S.148 in the said Act so as to provide that in an appeal by the drawer agaisnt conviction under S.138, the Appellate Court may order the appellant to deposit such sum which shall be a minimum of twenty per cent of the fine or compensation awarded by the Trial Court. 4. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objectives. It is also necessary to notice the provisions of Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 [hereinafter referred to as the 'Cr.P.C.'] that deals with the power of the Appellate Court to suspend the sentence awarded by the trial court and to release an appellant on bail pending an appeal. The said provision reads as under: 389. Suspension of sentence pending the appeal, release of appellant on bail (1) Pending any appeal by a convicted person, the appellate court may, for reasons to be recorded by it in writing, order that the execution of the sentence or order appealed against be suspended and, also, if he is in confinement, that he be released on bail, or on his own bond: PROVIDED that the Appellate Court shall, before releasing on bail or on his own bond a convicted person who ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be construed as a rule or shall and it was only in exceptional cases, for which special reasons had to be assigned, that an Appellate Court could refrain from issuing a direction to deposit the prescribed percentage of the fine or compensation awarded by the trial court. In the later decision of the Supreme Court in Jamboo Bhandari (supra), however, the Court found that what was held by it earlier in Surinder Singh Deswal (supra), was that a purposive interpretation should be made of Section 148 of the N.I. Act and that, while under normal circumstances the Appellate Court would be justified in imposing the condition of deposit as provided in Section 148, in a case where the Appellate Court was satisfied that the condition of deposit of 20% would be unjust or imposing such a condition would amount to a deprivation of the right of appeal of the appellant, an exception could be made for reasons specifically recorded. The Court, in other words, found that in its earlier decision, it had never envisaged the deposit of a minimum of 20% of the fine or compensation awarded by the trial court as an absolute rule which did not accommodate any exception. 8. In our view, a reading of Section ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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