SUGANTHI SURESH KUMAR A
v.
JAGDEESHAN
JANUARY 15, 2002
[K.T. THOMAS AND S.N. PHUKAN, JJ.] B
Constitution of India, I 950:
~
Article 141-Law declared by Supreme Court-Binding nature of-
:
Held : It is impermissible for the High Court to overrule the decision of the c
Supreme Court on the ground that the Supreme Court laid down the law
without considering any other point-Such a law would hold good unless
overruled by a larger Bench of the Supreme Court-Practice and Procedure.
Negotiable Instruments Act, I 88 I :
D
Section 138-Dishonour ofcheque-Sentence-Principles-Held: It should
be the look out of the trial Magistrates to impose such sentence as to give
proper effect to the object of legislation-No drawer of a cheque can be
allowed to take dishonour of cheque issued by him light heartedly.
The respondent-accused was convicted for an offence under Section
E
138 of the Negotiable Instruments At, 1881 and sentenced to undergo
imprisonment till the rising of the court and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000.
• The appellant-complainant filed a criminal revision petition before the
High Court contending that the sentence was grossly inadequate and that
the trial court ought to have at least invoked Section 357(3) of the Code F
of Criminal Procedure, 1973. However, the High Court dismissed the
revision petition. Hence this appeal.
Disposing of the appeal, the Court
I
I HELD : I.I. It is impermissible for the High Court to overrule the G
~
""' decision of the apex Court on the ground that the Supreme Court laid down
the legal position without considering any other point. It is not only a matter
of discipline for the High Courts in India, it is the mandate of the Constitution
as provided in Article 141 that the law declared by the Supreme Court shall
be binding on all courts within the territory of India. [273-C-D)
269
H
270 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2002) I S.C.R.
A 1.2. The High Court cannot question the correctness of the decision of
the Supreme Court even though the point sought before the High Court was
not considered by the Supreme Court. [273-E)
Anil Kumar Neotia v. Union of India, AIR (1988) SC 1353, relied on.
B 2. When this Court pronounced that a court may enforce an order to
pay compensation "by imposing a sentence in default" it is open to all courts
in India to follow the said course. The said legal position would continue to
hold good until it is overruled by a larger Bench of this court. [273-G)
...
c UP, AIR
Hari Singh v. Sukhbir Singh, (1988) 4 SCC 551 and Ba/raj v. State of
(1995) SC 1935, relied on.
:
Rajendra v. Jose, (20111) 3 KLT 431 (Ker), overruled.
3. In a case where the amount covered by the cheque remained unpaid it
D should be the lookout of the trial Magistrates that the sentence for the offence
under Section 138 of the Negotiate Instruments Act, 1881 should be of such
a nature as to give proper ~ffect to the object of the legislation. No drawer of
...
the cheque can be allowed to take dishonour of the cheque issued by him light
heartedly. The very object of enactment of provisions like Section 138 of the
Act would stand defeated if the sentence is "imprisonment till the rising of
E the court" as passed by the trial Magistrate. It is a different matter if the
accused paid the amount at least during the pendency of the case.
[274-C-D)
K. Bhaskaran v. Sankaran Vaidhyan Ba/an, [1999[ 7 SCC 510 and Hari
F Singh v. Sukhbir Singh, [1988) 4 SCC 551, relied on.
Pankaj Bhai Nagjibhai Patet v. State of Gujarat, 120011 2 sec 595,
referred to.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal Nos. 65-
G 66 of2002.
,...
From the Judgment and Order dated 20.4.200 I of the Chennai High
Court in Cr!. R.P. Nos. 118 and 119 of 200 I.
K.V. Viswanathan, Kunwar Ajit Mohan Singh and K.V. Venkataraman for
H the Appellant.
S.S. KUMAR v. JAGDEESHAN [THOMAS, J.] 271
T. Raja for the Respondent. A
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
THOMAS, J. Leave granted.
Appellant in this case is the complainant before the court of 9th B
Metropolitan Magistrate, Saidapet, Chennai. The offence pitted against the
respondent was under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. In fact
there were two complaints arising out of two sets of cheques which were
;
dishonoured by the drawee bank. The trial Magistrate after holding the
respondent guilty of the offence convicted him of the aforesaid offence but C
sentenced hiin only to undergo imprisonment till rising of the court and pay
a fine of Rs. 5000 in both cases. Apparently the respondent was happy and,
therefore, he did not prefer any appeal. But the complainant/appellant was
unhappy and, therefore, he preferred two revisions before the High Court on
the premise that the sentence was grossly inadequate. He contended before
the High Court that the trial Magistrate should atleast have invoked the D
provision under Section 357 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short
the Code).
However the learned single Judge of the High Court of Madras was not
inclined to interfere with the sentence passed on the respondent and, therefore, E
he dismissed both the revisions. Nonetheless learned single judge has chosen
this opportunity to send a message to the trial Magistrates "to Keep in mind
the object of providing stringent punishment and the guidelines given by the
Apex Court in Pankaj Bhai Nagjibhai Patel v. State of Gujarat and Anr.,
(2001] 2 SCC 595"; nor did the High Court invoke Section 357(3) of the Code.
F
Mr. KV Viswanathan, learned counsel for the petitioner invited our
attention to the following observations made by this Court in K. Bhaskaran
v. Sankarna Vaidhyan Ba/an, [1999] 7 SCC 510:
"lfa Judicial Magistrate of the First Class were to order compensation G
to the paid to the complainant from out of the fine realised the
complainant will be the loser when the cheque amount exceeded the
said limit. In such a case a complainant would get only the maximum
amount of rupees five thousand. But the Magistrate in such cases can
alleviate the grievance of the complainant by making resort to Section
357(3) Cr.PC. The Supreme Court has emphasised the need for making H
272 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2002] I S.C.R.
A liberal use of the provision. No limit is mentioned in the sub-section
and therefore, a Magistrate can award any sum as compensation. Of
Course while fixing the quantum of such compensation the Magistrate
has to consider what would be the reasonable amount of compensation
payable to the complainant. Thus, even if the trial was before a Court
of a Magistrate of the first Class in respect of a cheque which covers
B an amount of Rs. 5000 the Court has power to award compensation
to be paid to the complainant."
In the said decision this Court reminded all concerned that it is well to
remember the emphasis laid on the need for making liberal use of Section
C 357(3) of the Code. This was observed by reference to a decision of this Court
in (1988] 4 SCC 551 Hari Singh v. Sukbir Singh. In the said decision this
Court held as follows:
"The quantum of compensation may be determined by taking into
account the nature of crime, the justness of the claim by the victim
D and the ability of accused to pay. If there are more than one accused
they may be asked to pay in equal terms unless their capacity to pay
varies considerably. The payment may also vary depending upon the
acts of each accused. Reasonable period for payment of compensation,
if necessary by instalments, may also be given. The court may
enforce the order by imposing sentence in default.
E
(emphasis supplied)
Our attention has been brought to a decision rendered by a single judge
of the High Court ofKerala vide Rajendran v. Jose, (2001) 3 Kerala Law Times
F 431, Learned Judge has directed that the decision of this Court in Hari Singh
v. Sukhbir Singh is. not to be followed as this Court laid down the said legal
proposition without adverting to Section 431 of the Code. The Single judge
of the High Court of Kerala by-passed the legal proposition made by the apex
Court in the following manner:
"The learned Sessions judge imposed sentence in default on the basis
G of the observation made by the apex Court in Hari Kishan & State
of Haryana v. Sukhbir Singh, AIR (1988) SC 2127, that court may
enforce the order by imposing sentence in default. It appears that
while disposing of that appeal attention of apex Court was not drawn
specifically to the provisions of S.431 Cr.P.C. providing for recovery
H of money (other than fine) payable by virtue of any order made under
S.S. KUMAR v. JAGDEESHAN [THOMAS, J.) 273
the Criminal Procedure Code." A
• Saying so, learned single judge set aside "that part of the order passed
by the sessions court directing an accused to undergo simple imprisonment
for a period of six months in case of his committing default in payment of the
compensation awarded." Thereafter learned single judge cited another decision
of this Court in Ba/raj v. State of U.P., AIR (1995) SC 1935. It related to a B
murder case. Apart from the sentence of imprisonment this Court awarded
compensation and directed the amount to be collected under Section 431 of
the Code. But there is not even a remote hint in the said decision doubting
the correctness of the legal proposition adopted in Hari Singh v. Sukhbir
Singh. In other words, the said legal position remains in force as no other C
Bench of this Court has even chosen to depart from it.
It is impermissible for the High Court to overrule the decision of the
apex Court on the ground that Supreme Court laid down the legal position
without considering any other point. It is not only a matter of discipline for
the High Courts in India, it is the mandate of the Constitution as provided D
in Article 141 that the law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding
on all courts within the territory of India. It was pointed out by this Court
in Anil Kumar Neotia v. Union ofIndia, AIR 1988 SC 1353 that the High Court
cannot question the correctness of the decision of the Supreme Court even
though the point sought before the High Court was not considered by the
Supreme Court. E
That a part, Section 431 of the Code has only prescribed that any
money (other than fine) payable by virtue of an order made under the Code
shall be recoverable "as if it were a fine". Two modes of the recovery of the
fine have been indicated in Section 421 (I) of the Code. The proviso to the
sub-section says that if the sentence directs that in default of payment of the F
fine, the offender shall be imprisoned, and if such offender has undergone the
whole of such imprisonment in default, no court shall issue such warrant for
levy of the amount.
When this Court pronounced in Hari Singh v. Sukhbir Singh, (supra) G
that a court may enforce an order to pay compensation "by imposing a
sentence in default" it is open to all courts in India to follow the said course.
The said legal position would continue to hold good until it is overruled by
larger Bench of this court. Hence learned single judge of High Court of Kerala
has committed ,an impropriety by expressing that the said legal direction of
this Court should not be followed by the subordinate courts in Kerala. We H
274 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2002] I S.C.R.
A e'Xpress our rlisapproval of the course adopted by the said judge in Rajendran
v. Jose, (2001) 3 Kerala Law Times 431. It is unfortunate that when the
Sessions judge has correctly done a course in accordance with the discipline
the Single judge of the High Court has incorrectly reversed it.
The total amount covered by the cheques involved in the present two
B cases was Rs. 4,50,000. There is no case for the respondent that the said
amount had been paid either during the pendency of the cases before the
trial court or revision before the High Court or this Court. If the amounts had
been paid to the complainant there perhaps would have been justification
for imposing a flee-bite sentence as had been chosen by the trial court. But
C in a case where the amount covered by the cheque remained unpaid it
should be the look out of the trial Magistrates that the sentence for the
offence under Section 138 should be of such a nature as to give proper effect
to the object of the legislation. No drawer of the cheque can be allowed to
take dishonour of the cheque issued by him light heartedly. The very object
-
of enactment of provisions like Section 138 of the Act would stand defeated
D if the sentence is of the nature passed by the trial Magistrate. It is a different
matter if the accused paid the amount atleast during the pendency of the case.
',~amed counsel for the respondent contended that the complainant has
subsequently filed a civil suit and attached all the properties of the respondent.
That is not a ground for lessening the gravity of the offence or to impose
E a minor sentence chosen by the trial court.
As we propose to remit the case back to the trial court, we do not wish
to indicate what exactly should be the limit of proper sentence to be passed.
The trial Magistrate shall hear both sides once again in the matter of sentence
and pass a sentence which is condign. We, therefore, set aside the sentence
F passed on the respondent and remit the case back to the trial Magistrate for
passing appropriate sentence on the respondent after hearing both sides.
Learned counsel for the respondent made a plea that if the respondent
is able to make payment of the amount covered by the cheques he shall not
be debarred from taking up the plea for mitigation of the sentence. The
G respondent will be entitled to make such a plea in the event of his succeeding
in paying the amount covered by the cheques. ,..
Appeals are disposed of in the above terms.
v.s.s. Appeals disposed of.