HC grants anticipatory bail in matter pertaining to NI Act, as accused compromised few complaints and was willing to compromise remaining ones

Read Order: Karanjit Kaur and Ors v. State of Punjab and another

LE Staff

Chandigarh, November 5,2021: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has recently accepted five petitions, filed on behalf of petitioner, Karanjit Kaur,  seeking grant of anticipatory bail in respect of cases registered under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

The petitioner’s counsel mainly submitted that three of the cases had already been compromised and in fact application for withdrawal of complaints had also been filed by the respective complainants in the said three cases before the Trial Court. 

It was also stated that the petitioner is willing to compromise the matter in respect of the other two complaints also and is willing to deposit the cheque amount but somehow the complainant wants an amount much more than the cheque amount and on account of which the compromise could not be finalized till date. 

The petitioner’s counsel however, informed that  pursuant to interim directions the petitioner had caused appearance in all the cases and had been regularly appearing before the Trial Court.

The counsel for the State did not seriously oppose the petitions, since, the petitioner had already compromised three of the complaints and was willing to compromise the other two as well.

In view of the aforestated position, the Bench of Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill found that the matters basically arose out of complaints under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act instituted against the petitioner and infact the petitioner had already compromised three out of the five complaints and had even expressed willingness to compromise the remaining two by offering the cheque amount to the complainant.

Thus, all the five petitions were accepted particularly keeping in view the fact that the petitioner has now been stated to be appearing before the Trial Court. 

Consequently, the interim directions issued by this Court by order dated June 30,2021 were made absolute subject to the condition that the petitioner shall appear regularly before the Trial Court and abide by any such condition as may be imposed by Trial Court for ensuring her regular presence.