Recently, The Supreme Court has observed that an accused can’t claim blanket exemption from appearing in a case related to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act.
The accused filed applications before the Magistrate claiming relief of exemption for personal appearance on all dates, but the Sessions Court partly allowed the accused’s Revision Plea, subsequently directed that accused will be put in an appearance before the Magistrate and should satisfy conditions like bond and surety, and undertake that the accused counsel will appear regularly.
The Punjab and Haryana Court dismissed the application of the accused seeking a blanket exemption from personal appearance. The court remarked that there is no provision in the CPC that allows exemption from personal appearance in all hearings.
the Aggrieved accused approached the Supreme Court seeking a permanent exemption from appearance, and to bolster his case, he relied on M/s Bhaskar Industries vs M/s Bhiwani Denim Apparels Ltd.
After pursuing this case The Supreme Court remarked that even though facts of Bhaskar’s judgment co-relate with this case and the Magistrate can even allow the very first appearance through counsel but the same should be done in exceptional cases and that too for valid reasons.
Therefore, the SLP got dismissed by the Supreme Court on the ground that the accused’s SLP after opining that there is no reason to entertain the instant petition.
Title: Mahesh Kumar Kejriwal vs Bhanuj Jindal
Case No.: SLP Crl: 3382/2022
