The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in CRM-A-825-2022 (Shweta Mahendru v. M/s Smart Publications and another), decided on 10.11.2025, held that an appeal against acquittal in a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act must be filed before the Court of Sessions, not the High Court. The appeal was accordingly remitted to the Sessions Court at Jalandhar.
Background
The appellant, Shweta Mahendru, had filed a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 against M/s Smart Publications. The trial court acquitted the accused. The appellant then preferred a criminal appeal before the High Court challenging the acquittal.
The Court’s Analysis
The High Court relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Celestium Financial Services v. State to hold that, following the amendment to Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (now Section 413 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023), a complainant aggrieved by an acquittal in a Section 138 case can now prefer a first appeal as of right before the Court of Sessions. Previously, a complainant had no statutory right of appeal against acquittal and was required to seek leave to appeal before the High Court under its revisional or appellate jurisdiction. The amended provision has fundamentally changed the position by conferring a right of first appeal on the complainant, and the Sessions Court is the designated forum for exercising that right.
Significance
The decision is significant because it marks a shift in the appellate landscape for dishonoured cheque cases. The earlier position required complainants to approach the High Court, often by way of a petition seeking leave to appeal, which was a more cumbersome process. Now, with the Sessions Court serving as the first appellate forum, complainants have a more accessible and direct remedy. The High Court’s role as a forum for first appeals in such cases is consequently narrowed.
The Order
The High Court disposed of the criminal appeal by remitting the matter to the Court of Sessions at Jalandhar for hearing the appeal against acquittal on merits.
Mr. Viraj Gandhi, Advocate, appeared for the Appellant, i.e., Ms. Shweta Mahendru.