In Brief
A man was convicted under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act for issuing a dishonoured cheque and ordered to pay compensation of Rs. 2.75 lakh with a default jail sentence. He underwent the default imprisonment but refused to pay compensation. The High Court held compensation remained recoverable. The Supreme Court upheld this, holding that the legal fiction in Section 431 Cr.P.C. (treating compensation as fine) extends logically to Section 70 IPC, allowing recovery of compensation even after default imprisonment is served, without requiring special reasons to be recorded. The underlying purpose—preventing offenders from escaping compensation by undergoing imprisonment—applies equally to Section 357(3) compensation as to fine-based compensation.
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