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Arun Malhotra vs. State Govt. of NCT of Delhi and Anr.

Criminal Miscellaneous Case · 2026:DHC:7630Decided 9 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
CRL.M.C. 9373/2023CNR: DLHC010551462023
Justice Chandrasekharan Sudha

Background

The petitioner had won a cheque-bounce conviction against two people, who were then, as a condition of appealing, ordered to deposit 20% of the fine (Rs. 5.44 lakh): an amount later released to the petitioner during the appeal. The appellate court subsequently overturned the conviction and acquitted the accused. When the trial court then ordered the petitioner to refund that money, he resisted for years, ignoring multiple court orders (including even after the Supreme Court dismissed his challenge), only finally paying after being left with no other option.

Decision Breakdown

The High Court dismissed the petitioner's challenge to the refund order, holding that Section 148(3)'s proviso to the Negotiable Instruments Act makes the refund mandatory once the accused is acquitted on appeal: there is no discretion for a complainant to keep the interim compensation. The Court found the petitioner had gone to considerable lengths to delay compliance and permitted the acquitted persons to withdraw the amount he had finally deposited.

Lesson Learnt

If you receive interim compensation from an accused person during their appeal against a cheque-bounce conviction, and that person is later acquitted, the law requires you to return that money, refusing to do so, even through repeated court challenges, will not succeed.

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