- (1.) THE present criminal appeal has been filed by the complainant, M/s Jain Udhay Hosiery Pvt. Ltd., challenging the judgment dated 30.4.2013, passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Ludhiana, whereby the respondents -accused were convicted and each one of them was ordered to undergo the sentence till rising of the Court. They were collectively ordered to deposit Rs. 1,15,000/ - inclusive of the amount of the cheque in dispute and costs of the litigation. The appellantcomplainant was held entitled to withdraw the amount of compensation in terms of Section 357, Cr.P.C. The respondentsaccused deposited the amount before the learned Trial Court on the day they were convicted and sentenced.
(2.) LEARNED counsel for the appellant submits that the order of sentence and imposing aggregate fine of Rs. 1,15,000/ - is on lesser side, therefore, the present appeal be entertained and the respondents -accused be directed to pay more compensation to the appellant -complainant. To support his submissions, he further argued that the respondents -accused did not appear before the learned Trial Court for three years and during pendency of the trial, all of a sudden an application was moved and they confessed their guilt and they were ordered to undergo the sentence till rising of the Court only.
(3.) I have heard learned counsel for the appellantcomplainant and gone through the material available on record. Concededly, the appellant -complainant and the respondents -accused are businessmen. They had the business dealings with each other. Due to variety of reasons, the cheque issued by the respondents -accused could not be encahsed and, as such, the appellant -complainant was constrained to file a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (for brevity, 'the Act').;