Brief Facts

In the case Susanta Chakraborty v. Dey Construction When the complainant deposited the cheque issued by the petitioner as payment for the order of a surgical mask and mask, the opposite party filed a complaint against the petitioner-accused under Section 138 of the NI Act. The complaint was disregarded due to a lack of funds. The complainant was interviewed in accordance with Section 200 of the CrPC and provided her testimony under oath in accordance with Section 145(1) of the NI Act. The Judicial Magistrate granted the complainant’s request under Section 143-A of the NI Act for the accused to pay interim damages without specifying the method of payment. Affirming that the Judicial Magistrate erred in approving the impugned orders because the application under Section 143-A of the NI Act was not heard and decided, the accused filed the current revision application after becoming irate with the impugned judgements.

Analysis of Court Verdict 

The Calcutta high court single judge bench justice Bibek Chaudhuri has held that No application under Section 143-A of the Negotiable Instruments Act of 1881 must be resolved on the day the accused is examined under Section 251 of the Criminal Procedure Code rather, it may be resolved at any time.

The Court noted that when the accused enters a not-guilty plea to the allegations in the complaint, Section 143-A(a) and (b) of the NI Act gives the court the authority to order the drawer of the cheque to pay interim compensation to the complainant. The Court further noted that the application under Section 143-A of the NI Act might be resolved at any time and was not required to be done so on the date of the accused’s examination under Section 251 of the CrPC. 

The Court highlighted that by setting the following day for the accused’s examination pursuant to Section 313 of the CrPC and the petition’s hearing pursuant to Section 143-A of the NI Act, the accused was denied the opportunity to cross-examine the complainant. The Court dismissed the current revision while directing the Trial Court to allow the accused to cross-examine and dismissed the application under Section 143-A of the NI Act without granting either party an adjournment.