Section 528 BNSS Petition Against Cheque Bounce Conviction Not Maintainable When Appeal Lies: Rajasthan High Court

By a judgment of 24.06.2026 in Criminal Case No. 7728/2015, the Special Judicial Magistrate (NI Act Cases), Beawar convicted the petitioner under Section 138 of the NI Act and sentenced her to two years' simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,40,000 (para 1). She filed a petition under Section 528 BNSS against it (para 1). The High Court's office objected that such a petition does not lie directly against a judgment of conviction (para 2). Her advocate submitted that the complainant had hidden the true facts and placed wrong ones before the trial court, and that 19 cases against her on different cheques all ended in conviction and sentence on the same day, an abuse of process (para 3).

The Court examined Rekha Sharad Ushir v. Saptashrungi Mahila Nagrik Sahkari Patsansta Ltd. (2025 INSC 399), relied on by the petitioner (paras 3-4). In that case the Magistrate had taken cognizance of a Section 138 NI Act complaint in the accused's absence; the documents produced and admitted showed that the complainant had suppressed the true facts, without which cognizance would not have been taken, and the cognizance order was set aside on that basis (para 4). Here, after cognizance, the accused was given an opportunity to cross-examine and to defend herself at the trial, and the judgment of 24.06.2026 was passed after a trial completed in her presence; because the facts differ, the Supreme Court decision does not apply (para 5). The plea that the trial court drew wrong conclusions on presumptions and related matters in the complainant's favour is an objection that can be raised before the appellate court (para 6). Since the law provides a statutory appeal against the judgment, a petition under Section 528 BNSS filed directly, in place of an appeal, is not fit to be entertained (para 6).