DAMODAR S. PRABHUversusSAYED BABALAL H.

                       [2010] 5 S.C.R. 678


A                    DAMODAR S. PRABHU
                                 v.
                      SAYED BABALAL H.
           (Criminal Appeal No. 963 of 2010 etc. etc.)
                          MAY 03, 2010.
B
    [K.G BALAKRISHNAN, CJI., P. SATHASIVAM AND J.M.
                    PANCHAL, JJ.]

        Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881:
c
       ss. 147 and 138 - Compounding of offence - Appeal
  before Supreme Court involving offences punishable uls 138
  - Settlement having been arrived at between the parties -
  HELD: Compounding of offences allowed and conviction of
0 accused in each case set aside.
       s.147 - Compounding of offence_s punishable u/s 138 -
  Guidelines - HELD: In view of the non-obstante clause, which
  has the overriding effect, the compo9nding of offences under
  the Act is controlled by s.147 and the scheme contemplated
E bys. 320, Cr.PC will not be applicable in the strict sense since
  the latter is meant for the specified offences under the Penal
  Code - It is evident that the permissibility of the compounding
  of an offence is linked to the perceived seriousness of the
  offence and the nature of the remedy provided - It is quite
F obvious that with respect to the offences of dishonour of
  cheques, it is the compensatory aspect of the remedy which .
  should be giveii priority over the punitive aspect - The
  problem in such cases is with the tendency of litigants to
  belatedly choose compounding as a means to resolve their
G dispute - Furthermore, unlike s.320, CrPC, s.147 of the Ac(
  provides no explicit guidance as to at what stage
  compounding can or cannot be done and whether
  compounding can be done at the instance of the complainant
  or with the leave of the court - In the absence of statutory
H                              678
    DAMODAR S. PRABHU v. SAYED BABALAL H.                   679


 guidance, parties are choosing compounding as a method of A
 last resort instead of opting for it as soon as the Magistrates
 take cognizance of the complaints - If the accused is willing
 to settle or compromise by way of compounding of the offence
 at a later stage of litigation, it is generally indicative of some
 merit in the complainant's case - In such cases it would be B
 desirable if parties choose compounding during the earlier
 stages of litigation - If, however, the accused has a valid
 defence such as a mistake, forgery or coercion among other
 grounds, then the matter can be litigated through the specified
 forums - Guidelines laid down for fifing of applications for c
 compounding of offences involving s. 138 of the Act and
 imposition of costs on parties who unduly delay compounding
 of offences - It would be mandatory for complainant to
  disclose that no other compliant in relation to the same
  offence has been filed before any other court - Since s.147 .
                                                                    0
 does not carry any guidance on how to proceed with the
 compounding of offences, there is legislative vacuum in this
 regard - Even in the past the Supreme Court has used its
 power to do complete justice under Article 142 of the
  Constitution to frame guidelines in relation to subject matter E
  where there was a legislative vacuum - Code of Criminal
·Procedure, 1973-s.320- Constitutionoflndia, 1950-Article
  142 - Legislation - Legislative vacuum - Bridged by judicial
 pronouncement.

      O.P. Dho/akia v. State of Haryana, (2000) 1 SCC 672;         F
 Sivasankaran v. State of Kera/a & Anr., (2002) 8 SCC 164;
 Kishore Kumar v. J.K. Corporation Ltd., (2004) 12 SCC 494;
 Sailesh Shyam Parsekar v. Baban, (2005) 4 SCC 162; Vinay
 Devanna Nayak v. Ryot Sewa Sahakari Bank Ltd., 2007 (12)
              =
  SCR 1134 (2008) 2 SCC 305; R. Rajeshwari v. H. N.                G
 Jagadish, (2008) 4 SCC 82; and K.M. Ibrahim v. K.P.
 Mohammed & Anr. 2009 (14) SCALE 262, referred to ..

     Criminal Procedure, 5fh edn. by K.N.C. Pillai, R. V.
 Kelkar's (Lucknow: Eastern Book Company, 2008) at p.
                                                                   H
    680       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2010] 5 S.C.R.

A 444; Some thoughts towards law reforms on the topic of
  Section 138, Negotiable Instruments Act - Tackling an
  avalanche of cases by Arun Mohan, (New Delhi: Universal
  Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., 2009) at p. 5, referred to.
                           Case Law Reference:
B
          c2000) 1 sec s12           referred to            para 6
          c2002) 8 sec 164           referred to            para 7
          (2004) 12 sec 494          referred to            para 7
c         c2005) 4 sec 162           referred to            para 7
          2007 (12) SCR 1134         referred to            para 9
          (2008) 4 sec 82            referred to            para 10
D         2009 (14) SCALE 262 referred to                   para 11
        CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
    No. 963 of 2010.

        From the Judgment & Order dated 14.8.2007 of the High
E   Court of Bombay at Goa in Criminal Appeal No. 74 of 2006.



    Crl.A. No. 964-966 of 2010.
F      G.E. Vahanvati, SGI, (A.C.), Arun R. Pedneker, V.N.
    Raghupathy for the Appellant.

          Sunil Kumar Verma for the Respondent.

G         The following Order of the Court was delivered

                                  ORDER

          1. Leave granted.

          2. The present appeals are in respect of litigation involving
H
   DAMODAR S. PRABHU v. SAYED BABALAL H.                      681


the offence enumerated by Section 138 of the Negotiable               A
Instruments Act, 1881 [Hereinafter 'Act']. It is not necessary for
us to delve into the facts leading up to the institution of
proceedings before this Court since the appellant and the
respondent have arrived at a settlement and prayed for the
compounding of the offence as contemplated by Section 147             B
of the Act. It would suffice to say that the parties were involved
in commercial transactions and that disputes had arisen on
account of the dishonour of five cheques issued by the
appellant. Thereafter, the parties went through the several
stages of litigation before their dispute reached this Court by       c
way of special leave petitions. With regard to the impugned
judgments delivered by the High Court of Bombay at Goa, the
appellant has prayed for the setting aside of his conviction in
these matters by relying on the consent terms that have been
arrived at between the parties. The respondent has not                0
opposed this plea and, therefore, we allow the compounding
of the offence and set aside the appellant's conviction in each
of the impugned judgments.

      3. However, there are some larger issues which can be
appropriately addressed in the context of the present case. It        E
may be recalled that Chapter XVII comprising sections 138 to
142 was inserted into the Act by the Banking, Public Financial
Institutions and Negotiable Instruments Laws (Amendment) Act,
1988 (66 of 1988). The object of bringing Section 138 into the
statute was to inculcate faith in the efficacy of banking             F
operations and credibility in transacting b"usiness on negotiable
instruments. It was to enhance the acceptability of cheques in
settlement of liabilities by making the drawer liable for penalties
in case of bouncing of cheques due to insufficient
arrangements made by the drawer, with adequate safeguards             G
to prevent harassment of honest drawers. If the cheque is
dishonoured for insufficiency of funds in the drawer's account
or if it exceeds the amount arranged to be paid from that
account, the drawer is to be punished with imprisonment for a
term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may            H.
    682     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2010] 5 S.C.R.

A extend to twice the amount of the cheque, or with both. It may
  be noted that when the offence was inserted in the statute in
  1988, it carried the provision for imprisonment up to one year,
  which was revised to two years following the amendment to the
  Act in 2002. It is quite evident that the legislative intent was to
B provide a strong criminal remedy in order to deter the worryingly
  high incidence of dishonour of cheques .. While the possibility
  of imprisonment up to two years provides a remedy of a
  punitive nature, the provision for imposing a 'fine which may
  extent to twice the amount of the cheque' serves a
c compensatory purpose. What must be remembered is that the
  dishonour of a cheque can be best described as a regulatory
  offence that has been created to serve the public interest in
  ensuring the reliability of these instruments. The impact of this
  offence is usually confined to the private parties involved in
D commercial transactions.

       4. Invariably, the provision of a strong criminal remedy has
  encouraged the institution of a large number of cases that are
  relatable to the offence contemplated by Section 138 of the Act.
  So much so, that at present a disproportionately large number
E of cases involving the dishonour of cheques is choking our
  criminal justice system, especially at the level of Magistrates'
  Courts. As per the 213th Report of the Law Commission of
  India, more than 38 lakh cheque bouncing cases were pending
  before various courts in the country as of October 2008. This
F is putting an unprecedented strain on our judicial system.

       · 5. Mr. Goolam E. Vahanvati, Solicitor General (now
  Attorney-General for India) had appeared as amicus curiae in
  the present matter and referred to the facts herein as an
G illustration of how parties involved in cheque bounce cases
  usually seek the compounding of the offence at a very late stage.
  Ttie inteJests of justice would indeed be better served if parties
  resorted to compounding as a method to resolve their disputes
  at an early stage instead of engaging in protracted litigation
  before several forums, thereby causing undue delay,
H
   DAMODAR S. PRABHU v. SAYED BABALAL H.                     683


expenditure and strain on part of the judicial system. This is       A
clearly a situation that is causing some concern, since Section
147 of the Act does not prescribe as to what stage is
appropriate for compounding the offence and whether the same
can be done at the instance of the complainant or with the leave
of the court. The learned Attorney General stressed on the           s
importance of using compounding as an expedient method to
hasten the disposal of cases. In this regard, the learned
Attorney General has proposed that this Court should frame
some guidelines to disincentivise litigants from seeking the
compounding of the offence at an unduly late stage of litigation.    c
In other words, judicial directions have been sought to nudge
litigants in cheque bounce cases to opt for compounding during
the early stages of litigation, thereby bringing down the arrears.

      6. Before examining the guidelines proposed by the
learned Attorney General, it would be useful to clarify the          D
position relating to the compounding of offences under the
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. Even before the insertion of
Section 147 in the Act (by way of an amendment in 2002) some
High Courts had permitted the compounding of the offence
contemplated by Section 138 during the later stages of               E
litigation. In fact in O.P. Dholakia v. State of Haryana, (2000)
 1 SCC 672, a division bench of this Court had permitted the
compounding of the offence even though the petitioner's
conviction had been upheld by all the three designated forums.
After noting that the petitioner had already entered into a          F
compromise with the complainant, the bench had rejected the
State's argument that this Court need not interfere with the
conviction and sentence since it was open to the parties to enter
 into a compromise at an earlier stage and that they had not
done so. The bench had observed:-                                    G

     "... Taking into consideration the nature of the offence in
     que_stion and the fact that the complainant and the accused
     have already entered into a compromise, we think it
     appropriate to grant permission in the peculiar facts and
                                                                     H
    684       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 (2010] 5 S.C.R.


A         circumstances of the present case, to compound."

       7. Similar reliefs were granted in orders reported as
  Sivasankaran v. State of Kera/a & Anr., (2002) 8 SCC 164,
  Kishore Kumar v. J.K. Corporation Ltd., (2004) 12 SCC 494
B and Sailesh Shyam Parsekar v. Baban, (2005) 4 SCC 162,
  among other cases. As mentioned above, the Negotiable
  Instruments Act, 1881 was amended by the Negotiable
  Instruments (Amendment and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act,
  2002 which inserted a specific provision, i.e. Section 147 'to
  make the offences under the Act compoundable'. We can refer
C to the following extract from the Statement of Objects and
  Reasons attached to the 2002 amendment which is self-
  explanatory:-

          "Prefatory Note - Statement of Objects and Reasons. -
D         The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 was amended by
          the Banking, Public Financial Institutions and Negotiable
          Instruments Laws (Amendment) Act, 1988 wherein a new
          Chapter XVII was incorporated for penalties in case of
          dishonour of cheques due to insufficiency of funds in the
E         account of the drawer of the cheque. These provisions
          were incorporated with a view to encourage the culture of
          use of cheques and enhancing the credibility of the
          instrument. The existing provisions in the Negotiable
          Instruments Act, 1881, namely, Sections 138 to 142 in
F         Chapter XVII have been found deficient in dealing with
          dishonour of cheques. Not only the punishment provided
          in the Act has proved to be inadequate, the procedure
          prescribed for the courts to deal with such matters has
          been found to be cumbersome. The courts are unable
          to dispose of such cases expeditiously in a time bound
G
          manner in view of the procedure contained in the Act. ... "
          (emphasis supplied)

  In order to address the deficiencies referred to above, Section
  10 of the 2002 amendment inserted Sections 143, 144, 145,
H 146 and 147 into the Act, which deal with aspects such as the
   DAMODAR S. PRABHU v. SAYED BABALAL H.                      685


power of the Court to tcy cases summarily (Section 143), Mode A
of service of summons ~Section 144), Evidence on affidavit
(Section 145), Bank's slip to be considered as prima facie
evidence of certain facts (Section 146) and Offences under the
Act to be compoundable (Section 147). At present, we are of
course concerned with Section 147 of the Act, which reads as B
follows:-

     "147. Offences to be compoundable. - Notwithstanding
     anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure,
     1973 (2of1974), every offence punishable under this Act C
     shall be compoundable."

     8. At this point, it would be apt to clarify that in view of the
non-obstante clause, the compounding of offences under the
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 is controlled by Section 147
and the scheme contemplated by Section 320 of the Code of D
Criminal Procedure [Hereinafter 'CrPC'] will not be applicable
in the strict sense since the latter is meant for the specified
offences under the Indian Penal Code. So far as the CrPC is
concerned, Section 320 deals with offences which are
compoundable, either by the parties without the leave of the E
court or by the parties but only with the leave of the Court. Sub-
section (1) of Section 320 enumerates the offences which are
compoundable without the leave of the Court, while sub-section
(2) of the said section specifies the offences which are
compoundable with the leave of the Court. Section 147 of the F
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 is in the nature of an enabling
provision which provides for the compounding of offences
prescribed under the same Act, thereby serving as an exception
to the general rule incorporated in sub-section (9) of Section
320 of the CrPC which states that 'No offence shall be G
compounded except as provided by this Section'. A bare
reading of this provision would lead us to the inference that
offences punishable under laws other than the Indian Penal
Code also cannot be compounded. However, since Section
147 was inserted by way of an amendment to a special law,
                                                                      H
    686      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2010) 5 S.C.R.


A   the same will override the effect of Section 320(9) of the CrPC,
    especially keeping in mind that Section 147 carries a non-
    obstante clause

          9. In Vinay Devanna Nayak v. Ryot Sewa Sahakari Bank
    Ltd., (2008) 2 sec 305, this Court had examined 'whether an
8
    offence punishable under Section 138 of the Act which is a
    special law can be compounded'. After taking note of a
    divergence of views in past decisions, this Court took the
    following position (C.K. Thakker, J. at Para. 17):-

C         " ... This provision is intended to prevent dishonesty on the
          part of the drawer of negotiable instruments in issuing
          cheques without sufficient funds or with a view to inducing
          the payee or holder in due course to act upon it. It thus
          seeks to promote the efficacy of bank operations and
D         ensures credibility in transacting business through
          cheques. In such matters, therefore, normally compounding
          of offences should not be denied. Presumably, Parliament
          also realised this aspect and inserted Section 147 by the
          Negotiable Instruments (Amendment and Miscellaneous
E         Provisions) Act, 2002 (Act 55 of 2002) .... "

          In the same decision, the court had also noted (Para. 11 ):-

          "... Certain offences are very serious in which compromise
          or settlement is not permissible. Some other offences, on'
F         the other hand, are not so serious and the law may allow
          the parties to settle them by entering into a compromise.
          The compounding of an offence signifies that the person
          against whom an offence has been committed has
          received some gratification to an act as an inducement for
G         his abstaining from proceeding further with the case."

         10. It would also be pertinent to refer to this Court's
    decision in R. Rajeshwari v. H.N. Jagadish, (2008) 4 SCC 82,
    wherein the following observations were made (S.B. Sinha, J.
H   at Para. 12):-
    DAMODAR S. PRABHU v. SAYED BABALAL H.                     687


     "Negotiable Instruments Act is a special Act. Section 147        A
     provides for a non obstante clause, stating:

             147. Offences to be compoundable. -
             Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of
             Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974). every
                                                                      8
             offence punishable under this Act shall be
             compoundable.

      Indisputably, the provisions of the Code of Criminal
      Procedure, 1973 would be applicable to the proceedings
      pending before the courts for trial of offences under the       C
      said Act. Stricto sensu, however, the table appended to
      Section 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is not
      attracted as the provisions mentioned therein refer only to
      provisions of the Penal Code and none other."
                                                                      D
        11. The compounding of the offence at later stages of
  litigation in cheque bouncing cases has also been held to be
  permissible in a recent decision of this Court, reported as K.M .
. Ibrahim v. K.P. Mohammed & Anr., 2009 (14) SCALE 262,
  wherein Kabir, J. has noted (at Paras. 11, 12):-
                                                                      E
      "11. As far as the non-obstante clause included in Section
      147 of the 1881 Act is concerned, the 1881 Act being a
      special statute, the provisions of Section 147 will have an
      overriding effect over the provisions of the Code relating
      to compounding of offences ....                                 F
      12. It is true that the application under Section 147 of the
      Negotiable Instruments Act was made by the parties after
      t~e proceedings had been concluded before the Appellate
      Forum. However, Section 147 of the aforesaid Act does           G
      not bar the parties from compounding an offence under
      Section 138 even at the appellate stage of the
      proceedings. Accordingly, we find no reason to reject the
      application under Section 147 of the aforesaid Act even
      in a proceeding under Article 136.of the Constitution."
                                                                      H
    688       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                    [2010] 5 S.C.R.


A      12. It is evident that the permissibility of the compounding
  of an offence is linked to the perceived seriousness of the
  offence and the nature of the remedy provided. On this point
  we can refer to the following extracts from an academic
  commentary [Cited from: K.N.C. Pillai, R. V. Kelkar's Criminal
B Procedure, 5th edn. (Lucknow: Eastern Book Company, 2008)
  at p. 444]:-

          "A crime is essentially a wrong against the society and the
          State. Therefore, any compromise between the accused
          person and the individual victim of the crime should not
c         absolve the accused from criminal responsibility. However,
          where the offences are essentially of a private nature and
          relatively not quite serious, the Code considers it expedient
          to recognize some of them as compoundable offences
          and some others as compoundable only with the
D         permission of the court .... "

  In a recently published commentary, the following observations
  have been made with regard to the offence punishable under
  Section 138 of the Act [Cited from: Arun Mohan, Some
E thoughts towards law reforms on the topic of Section 138,
  Negotiable Instruments Act - Tackling an avalanche of cases
  (New Delhi: Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., 2009) at
  p. 5]

          " ... Unlike that for other forms of crime, the punishment
F         here (in so far as the complainant is concerned) is not a
          means of seeking retribution, but is more a means to
          ensure payment of money. The complainant's interest lies
          primarily in recovering the money rather than seeing the
          drawer of the cheque in jail. The threat of jail is only a mode
G         to ensure recovery. As against the accused who is willing
          to undergo a jail term, there is little available as remedy
          for the holder of the cheque.

          If we were to examine the number of complaints filed which
H         were 'compromised' or 'settled' before the final judgment
   DAMODAR S. PRABHU v. SAYED BABALAL H.                        689


     on one side and the cases which proceeded to judgment              A
     and conviction on the other, we will find that the bulk was
     settled and only a· miniscule number continued."

      13. It is quite obvious that with respect to the offence of
dishonour of cheques, it is the compensatory aspect of the              B
remedy which should be given priority over the punitive aspect.
There is also some support for the apprehensions raised by
the learned Attorney General that a majority of cheque bounce
cases are indeed being compromised or settled by way of
compounding, albeit during the later stages of litigation thereby       C
contributing to undue delay in justice-delivery. The problem
herein is with the tendency of litigants to belatedly choose
compounding as a means to resolve their dispute. Furthermore,
the written submissions filed on behalf of the learned Attorney
General have stressed on the fact that unlike Section 320 of
the CrPC, Section 147 of the Negotiable Instruments Act                 D
provides no explicit guidance as to what stage compounding
can or cannot be done and whether compounding can be done
at the instance of the complainant or with the leave of the court.
As mentioned earlier, the learned Attorney General's
submission is that in the absence of statutory guidance, parties        E
are choosing compounding as a method of last resort instead
of opting for it as soon as the Magistrates take cognizance of
the complaints. One explanation for such behaviour could be
that the accused persons are willing to take the chance of
progressing through the various stages of litigation and then           F
choose the route of settlement only when no other route
remains. While such behaviour may be viewed as rational from
the viewpoint of litigants, the hard facts are that the undue delay
in opting for compounding contributes to the arrears pending
before the courts at various levels. If the accused is willing to       G
settle or compromise by way of compounding of the offence at
a later stage of litigation, it is generally indicative of some merit
in the complainant's case. In such cases it would be desirable
if parties choose compounding during the earlier stages of
litigation. If however, the accused has a valid defence such as         H
    690     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2010] 5 S.C.R.

A   a mistake, forgery or coercion among other grounds, then the
    matter can be litigated through the specified forums.

          14. It may be noted here that Section 143 of the Act makes
    an offence under Section 138 triable by a Judicial Magistrate
8   First Class (JMFC). After trial, the progression of further legal
    proceedings would depend on whether there has been a
    conviction or an acquittal.

                In the case of conviction, an appeal would lie to the
                Court of Sessions under Section 374(3)(a) of the
c               CrPC; thereafter a Revision to the High Court under
                Section 397/401 of the CrPC and finally a petition
                before the Supreme Court, seeking special leave
                to appeal under 136 of the Constitution of India.
                Thus, in case of conviction there will be four levels
D               of litigation.

                In the case of acquittal by lhe JMFC, the
                complainant could appeal to the High Court under
                Section 378(4) of the CrPC, and thereafter for
                special leave to appeal to the Supreme Court under ·
E
                Article 136. In such an instance, therefore, there will
                be three levels of proceedings.

        15. With regard to the progression of litigation in cheque
  bouncing cases, the learned Attorney General has urged this
F Court to frame guidelines for a graded scheme of imposing
  costs on parties who unduly delay compounding of the offence.
  It was submitted that the requirement of deposit of the costs
  will act as a deterrent for delayed composition, since at present,
  free and easy compounding of offences at any stage, however
G belated, gives an incentive to the drawer of th~ cheque to delay
  settling the cases for years. An application for compounding
  made after several years not only results in the system being
  burdened but the complainant is also deprived of effective
  justice. In view of this submission, we direct that the following
H guidelines be followed:-
   DAMODAR S. PRABHU v. SAYED BABALAL H.                  691


    THE GUIDELINES                                               A

     (i)   In the circumstances, it is proposed as follows:

     (a)   That directions can be given that the Writ of
           Summons be suitably modified making it clear to
           the accused that he could make an application for     B
           compounding of the offences at the first or second
           hearing of the case and that if such an application
           is made, compounding may be allowed by the court
           without imposing any costs on the accused.
                                                                 c
     (b)   If the accused does not make an application for
           compounding as aforesaid, then if an application
           for compounding is made before the Magistrate at
           a subsequent stage, compounding can be allowed
           subject to the condition that the accused will be     D
           required to pay 10% of the cheque amount to be
           deposited as a condition for compounding with the
           Legal Services Authority, or such authority as ,the
           Court deems fit.                 ·

     (c)   Similarly, if the application for compounding is      E
           made before the Sessions Court or a High Court
           in revision or appeal, such compounding may be
           allowed on the condition that the accused pays 15%
           of the cheque amount by way of costs.
                                                                 F
     (d)   Finally, if the application for compounding is made
           before the Supreme Court, the figure would
           increase to 20% of the cheque amount.

Let it also be clarified that any costs imposed in accordance
with these guidelines should be deposited with the Legal         G
Services Authority operating at the level of the Court before
which compounding takes place. For instance, in case of
compounding during the pendency of proceedings before a
Magistrate's Court or a Court of Sessions, such costs should
                                                                 H
    692       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2010] 5 S.C.R.


A   be deposited with the District Legal Services Authority.
    Likewise, costs imposed in connection with composition before
    the High Court should be deposited with the State Legal
    Services Authority and those imposed in connection with
    composition before the Supreme Court should be deposited
8   with the National Legal Services Authority.

            16. We are also in agreement with the Learned Attorney
    General's suggestions for controlling the filing of multiple
    complaints that are relatable to the same transaction. It was
    submitted that complaints are being increasingly filed in multiple
C   jurisdictions in a vexatious manner which causes tremendous
    harassment and prejudice to the drawers of the cheque. For
    instance, in the same transaction pertaining to-a loarJJaken on
    an installment basis to be repaid in equafeei monthly
    installments, several cheques are taken which are dated for
D   each monthly installment and upon the dishonor of each of such
    cheques, different complaints are being filed in different courts
    which may also have jurisdiction in relation to the complaint. In
    light of this submission, we direct that it should be mandatory
    fol' the complainant to disclose that no other complaint has been
E   filed in any otl)er court in respect of the same transaction. Such
    a disclosure should be made on a sworn affidavit which should
    accompany the complaint filed under Section 200 of the CrPC.
    If it is found that such multiple complaints have been filed, orders
    for transfer of the complaint to the first court should be given,
F   generally speaking, by the High Court after imposing heavy
    costs on the complainant for resorting to such a practice. These
    directions should be given effect prospectively.

       17. We are also conscious of the view that the judicial
  endorsement of the above quoted guidelines could be seen as
G an act of judicial law-making and therefore an intrusion into the
  legislative domain. It must be kept in mind that Section 147 of
  the Act does not carry any guidance on how to proceed with
  the compounding of offences under the Act. We have already
  explained that the scheme contemplated under Section 320 of
H
   DAMODAR S. PRABHU v. SAYED BABALAL H.                   693


the CrPC cannot be followed in the strict sense. In view of the A
legislative vacuum, we see no hurdle to the endorsement of
some suggestions which have been designed to discourage
litigants from unduly delaying the composition of the offence in
cases involving Section 138 of the Act. The graded scheme
for imposing costs is a means to encourage compounding at · B
an early stage of litigation. In the status quo, valuable time of
the Court is spent on the trial of these cases and the parties
are not liable to pay any Court fee since the proceedings are
governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure, even though the
impact of the offence is largely confined to the private parties. c
Even though the imposition of costs by rhe competent court is
a matter of discretion, the scale of costs has been suggested
in the interest of uniformity. The competent Court can of course
reduce the costs with regard to the specific facts and
circumstances of a case, while recording reasons in writing for 0
such variance. Bona fide litigants should of course contest the--
proceedings to their logical end. Even in the past, this Court
has used its power to do complete justice under Article 142 of
the Constitution to frame guidelines in relation to subject-matter
where there was a legislative vacuum.
                                                                   E
      18. The present set of appeals are disposed of
accordingly.
   \

R.P.                                    Appeals disposed of.