A three-judges bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud entertained a Special Leave Petition [SLP], for setting aside the punishment for dishonor of Cheque under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. The appellant was sentenced by the Judicial First Class Magistrate- II, Ottappalam in 2010 to undergo simple imprisonment for 3 months and to pay a compensation of Rs. 2,45,000/- to the complainant under Section 357(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The convicted (appellant) moved to Court of Additional Session Judge, Palakkad Division at Ottapalam for setting aside the order of the sentence which was dismissed on 5th August, 2011. A Criminal Revision Petition was filed in the High Court of Kerala at Eranakulam by the appellant on 10th February, 2012. The High Court of Kerala confirmed the order of the sentence order by the lower court.
The appellant deposited the additional amount of Rs. 1,00,000 by the order of the Supreme Court in the month of January this year. The Hon’ble Supreme Court appreciated the fact that appellant complied to all the directions of the court and taking the overview of the matter, the order of the imprisonment was modified in lieu of the additional compensation of Rs. 1,00,000 already deposited by the appellant.
However, the SC is ready to re-consider the matter if the complainant is not satisfied with the judgment.
Read the full judgment: P. Ramadas v State of Kerala and Others, http://www.supremecourtofindia.nic.in/supremecourt/2012/20500/20500_2012_Judgement_19-Feb-2018.pdf
