Dishonour of Cheque -- Reference to Mediation -- Mandatory reference by Trial Courts and Sessions Courts, State not a necessary party
(i) Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, S.138 -- Dishonour of Cheque -- Reference to Mediation -- Every Trial Court, immediately after service of accused in new cases and in pending cases not already referred, shall refer N.I. Act matters to mediation, leaving it to the parties to decline mediation before the mediator. Sessions Courts, upon service of the opposite party in pending appeals and revisions, shall likewise refer matters not already sent for mediation. The State cannot be made a party in an N.I. Act case, being a private dispute, and its name is liable to be deleted where arraigned for purposes such as custody certificate or confinement. (ii) Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, S.138 -- Dishonour of Cheque -- Belated Application for Handwriting Comparison Using Photocopy -- Where an accused, after availing repeated opportunities to conclude defence evidence, seeks comparison of signatures through a Handwriting Expert using a photocopy rather than the original document, such application at the final stage of trial reflects an attempt to delay proceedings, since signatures can only be meaningfully compared with the original. (iii) Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, Ss.138, 147 -- Dishonour of Cheque -- Compounding of Offence -- The offence can be compounded between holder and drawer of the cheque at any stage. No permission of the Trial Court is required where the complaint is still pending and final judgment has not been pronounced. Once judgment of conviction has been pronounced, the order of conviction and sentence can only be set aside by an Appellate Court higher in hierarchy.
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