Cheque Dishonour Complainants Are 'Victims' With Direct Appeal Rights: Gujarat HC

Empowering complainants in cheque bounce cases, the Gujarat High Court has ruled that a payee under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 is a 'victim' with an unconditional right to appeal acquittals before the Sessions Court without seeking special leave. This decision significantly recalibrates the appellate remedy for financial crimes, placing the victim's right to challenge an acquittal on par with an accused's right to challenge a conviction.

In a proceeding presided over by Justice Hemant M. Prachchhak, the Court addressed an appeal filed under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (or Section 419 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) challenging an acquittal order passed by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mehsana, in a complaint related to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

The Court clarified the legal standing of complainants, noting that a victim of a deemed offence under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 must be treated symmetrically to victims of other penal laws.

The Court, in its reasoning, observed: "the complainant is indeed the victim owing to the alleged dishonour of a cheque. In the circumstances, the complainant can proceed as per the proviso to Section 372 of the CrPC and he may exercise such an option and he need not then elect to proceed under Section 378 of the CrPC. The complainant under Section 138 is the victim who must also have the right to prefer an appeal under the said provision. Merely because the proceeding under Section 138 of the Act commences with the filing of a complaint under Section 200 of the CrPC by a complainant, he does not cease to be a victim inasmuch as it is only a victim of a dishonour of cheque who can file a complaint."

The Court has following directions:

"this appeal is disposed of with a direction to the Registry to transfer the appeal to the concerned Sessions Court. After it is transferred to the concerned Sessions Court, it has to be treated as an Appeal under the proviso under Section 372 of the Code / Section 413 of BNSS and numbered accordingly and issue notice to the parties. The Registry is directed to transfer the entire record of the case, including the certified copies of the order impugned and record & proceedings, if lying with this Court, to the concerned lower Appellate Court, forthwith."

Background

The litigation originated from a complaint filed by Patel Rakeshkumar Amratbhai regarding a dishonoured cheque. The Trial Court had acquitted the respondent-accused on November 26, 2018. The appellant initially approached the High Court seeking to set aside this acquittal. During the pendency of the appeal, the legal landscape shifted following the Supreme Court's decision in Celestium Financial Vs. A.Gnanasekaran Etc., which established the victim status of cheque bounce complainants.

The Court also referenced Shivsinh Ganpatsinh Solanki Vs. State of Gujarat and Thakar Hariprasad Dalsukhram Vs. State of Gujarat and another to reinforce the principle that a victim's right to appeal should not be circumscribed by conditions precedent like obtaining leave, which the State or a general complainant might require. While noting that the issue in Celestium Financial Vs. A.Gnanasekaran Etc. is currently under reference for an authoritative pronouncement by a larger bench of the Apex Court, the High Court directed the transfer of the present appeal to the Sessions Court to be decided subject to the final outcome of that reference.

Case Details:
Case No.: R/CRIMINAL APPEAL (AGAINST ACQUITTAL) NO. 11 of 2019
Neutral Citation: 2026:GUJHC:56125
Case Title: PATEL RAKESHKUMAR AMRATBHAI Versus STATE OF GUJARAT & ANR.
Appearances:
For the Petitioner(s): MR KAMLESH S KOTAI(6150)
For the Respondent(s): MS JIRGA JHAVERI ADDITIONAL PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

Source: 2026 CaseBase(GUJ) 19247