Reporting By: Amit Kashyap.
The Patna HC Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol & Justice S. Kumar in Sunil Kumar v. State of Bihar, Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.73 of 2022 held that an order of payment of interim compensation under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 can be enforced under the Bihar & Orissa Public Demands Recovery Act, 1914 as ‘public demand’.
The question for consideration before the bench was that whether an order for payment of interim compensation under the Negotiable Instruments Act can be enforceable under the Bihar & Orissa Public Demands Recovery Act, 1914 as a public demand?
High Court noted that Section 143A of the NI Act under sub-section (5) specifically states that interim compensation payable under this Section is recoverable as a fine under Section 421 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1881.
Section 421 (1) (b) provides for issuance of warrant to the Collector to realize amounts as arrears of land revenue from movable and immovable properties of said defaulter.
Further, clause 3 of Schedule I of the Recovery Act as already extracted hereinabove states that any money realizable as arrear of land revenue by process authorized for said purpose shall be deemed a public demand under Section 3 of the Act.
Hence, the interim compensation so ordered under Section 143A of the NI Act is recoverable as a fine under Section 421 of CrPC which then, as shown from the above discussion, clearly falls under the definition of ‘public demand’.
Therefore, Lower Court was correct in issuing an order under Section 143A of the NI Act for recovery of interim compensation as land revenue.
In view of the above discussion, the petitioner was at liberty to avail of alternative remedies under the law.
Advocates before the Court:
For the Petitioner/s :
Mr. Sumeet Kumar Singh, Mr. Amarendra Kumar Singh, Mr. Nikhil Singh, Ms. Shatakshi Sahay
For the Respondent/s :
Mr. Anil Kumar Singh (GP 26 ), Mr. Sanjay Kumar.
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Judgements In Criminal Law 