Authority: High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction
Order Date: 21 August 2026
Case Overview
- Applicant: Patel Polymers Pvt. Ltd., complainant under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
- Respondents: State of Maharashtra (Respondent No.1) and an unnamed organizational accused (Respondent No.2).
- The matter concerns an order of acquittal by the Criminal Court in a Section 138 NI Act case, with parallel civil proceedings where the civil court dismissed the recovery suit.
- Counsel for the applicant sought permission to withdraw the leave application and retain the option to file an appeal under the proviso to Section 372 CrPC, relying on the Supreme Court judgment in Celestium Financial v. A. Gnanasekaran (2025 SCC OnLine SC 1320).
- Respondent No.2 opposed, arguing that further litigation would be redundant and cause fresh proceedings.
Final Outcome
- The Court held that no legal bar exists to the complainant’s right to appeal and permitted the applicant to withdraw the present leave application while granting liberty to file an appeal.
- The Court noted that any application for condonation of delay in filing the appeal will be decided by the Appellate Court in accordance with law.
- The present application is therefore disposed of as withdrawn, with liberty to file appeal and with the matter of delay condonation left open.
Topics: Legal Appeal, Negotiable Instruments Act