Authority: High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad

Order Date: 07/07/2026

Case Overview

  • Parties: Omkar Aluminium Furniture (owner Rameshbhai Hemchandrabhai Parmar) as appellant; State of Gujarat & ANR as respondents.
  • Original proceeding: Criminal Appeal (against acquittal) No. 13 of 2019 filed under Section 378 CrPC and Section 419 BNSS, challenging the trial court’s acquittal of the accused under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
  • Background: The trial court (6th Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Vadodara) acquitted the accused on 29.01.2018. The appellant contended that, as the complainant‑victim, he has a statutory right to appeal under the proviso to Section 372 CrPC (or Section 413 BNSS).
  • Legal references: The court cited the Supreme Court’s decision in Celestium Financial Vs. A. Gyanasekaran (2025 (3) GLH 747) which held that the complainant in a Section 138 case is the victim and may file an appeal under Section 372 without needing to resort to Section 378. It also referred to its own earlier judgment in Shivsinh Ganpatsinh Solanki Vs. State of Gujarat (Criminal Misc. Applications Nos. 12753/2019 & 12908/2019) and to Thakar Hariprasad Dalsukhram Vs. State of Gujarat (2026 SCC OnLine Guj 569).
  • Counsel: For appellant – Mr. Ajay L. Pandav and Mr. Rajesh B. Desai; for respondents – Mr. Amrish K. Pandya, Ms. Jyoti Bhatt (Additional Public Prosecutor), and counsel for the State.

Final Outcome

  • The High Court disposed of the appeal, directing the Registry to transfer the entire case record, including certified copies of the impugned order and all proceedings, to the appropriate Sessions Court.
  • The transferred matter shall be treated as an appeal filed under the proviso to Section 372 CrPC / Section 413 BNSS and numbered accordingly, with notice issued to the parties.
  • The lower appellate court is instructed to expedite disposal, given the pendency of the matter.
  • The High Court expressly stated that it has not examined the merits of the case at this stage.

Topics: Cheque‑bounce appeal, Victim’s right to appeal