What are the defences available in 143a of n.I act to accused?
Answers
Explanation:
Gujarat High Court has observed that prima facie the provision does not authorize a court to strike off the defence of an accused if he fails to pay the interim compensation under Section-143A of NI Act.
A bench of Justice Vora passed the order in the case titled as Smart Options Services vs State Of Gujarat on 26.06.2019.
The High Court was dealing with a challenge where due to non payment of interim compensation, defence of accused was struck off.
When the matter reached the High Court, it observed "Prima facie, it appears that the Court cannot struck-off the defence on account of non-payment of 20% of the interim compensation amount at the time of recording of plea".
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High Court also indicated the proper procedure as "Apart from it, if any order is passed under Section 143A of the Negotiable Instruments Act, in that event, the complainant can recover such amount as provided under Section 421 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Therefore, present petition deserves consideration".
The High Court however allowed the trial court to proceed further in the matter without insisting on payment of interim compensation and observed "Meanwhile, the learned trial Judge is at liberty to proceed with hearing of Criminal Case No.5381 of 2019 (Old No.218 of 2015 and C.C. No.1422 of 2016) without insisting payment of 20% of the amount of cheque in question. Direct service today is permitted".
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