Complainant in Section 138 NI Act proceedings is a victim entitled to appeal acquittal before the Sessions Court.

The appellant (original complainant) filed an appeal under Section 378 of the CrPC / Section 419 of the BNSS challenging the judgment dated 01.07.2024 by the 16th Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat.

The trial court had acquitted the respondent-accused of an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act, 1881.

The High Court examined the maintainability of the appeal before the High Court in light of recent judicial precedents regarding the status of a complainant as a "victim".

1. Whether a complainant in a Section 138 NI Act proceeding is considered a "victim" entitled to file an appeal against acquittal before the Sessions Court under the proviso to Section 372 of the CrPC / Section 413 of the BNSS.

2. Whether the current appeal filed in the High Court should be transferred to the appropriate Sessions Court for adjudication.

The Court relied on the Supreme Court decision in Celestium Financial v. A. Gnanasekaran Etc. (2025 (3) GLH 747), which held that a complainant in a Section 138 NI Act case is a "victim" as defined under Section 2(wa) of the CrPC, and thus possesses a statutory right to appeal an acquittal under the proviso to Section 372 of the CrPC / Section 413 of the BNSS to the immediate superior court (Sessions Court) without requiring special leave under Section 378(4).

The Court also referenced Shivsinh Ganpatsinh Solanki v. State of Gujarat regarding the procedural hierarchy of such appeals.

The High Court observed that while the issue is currently pending before a larger bench of the Supreme Court in Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 12350/2024, the prevailing authoritative pronouncement in Celestium Financial must be followed.

The Court reasoned that since the complainant and the victim are one and the same in cheque dishonour cases, the right to appeal is not circumscribed by the conditions of Section 378 of the CrPC.

Consequently, following the hierarchy established by the proviso to Section 372, the appropriate forum for this appeal is the Sessions Court rather than the High Court.

The Court emphasized that this transfer is subject to the final outcome of the reference pending before the Supreme Court.

The Sessions Court is directed to treat the matter as an appeal under the proviso to Section 372 of the CrPC / Section 413 of the BNSS, re-number it, and issue fresh notices to the parties; the lower Appellate Court was requested to expedite the disposal due to the time already elapsed.