Negotiable Instruments Act Section 143 — Power of Court to try cases summarily
CHAPTER XVI O F I N T E R N A T I O N A L LA W
General
Summary
All offences covered by this chapter must be tried by a Judicial Magistrate of the first class or a Metropolitan Magistrate, and the trial will follow the simplified summary procedure rules from the Criminal Procedure Code. In a summary trial, the Magistrate can sentence a convicted person to imprisonment of up to one year and impose a fine of more than five thousand rupees. If, at the start or during the trial, the Magistrate thinks the case may require a longer prison sentence or that a summary trial is not suitable, they must hear both parties, record that decision, and then recall any witnesses to conduct a regular trial instead. The trial should be held day-to-day as far as possible, and the court must try to finish it within six months from when the complaint is filed.
Official Text
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) all offences under this Chapter shall be tried by a Judicial Magistrate of the first class or by a Metropolitan Magistrate and the provisions of sections 262 to 265 (both inclusive) of the said Code shall, as far as may be, apply to such trials:
Provided that in the case of any conviction in a summary trial under this section, it shall be lawful for the Magistrate to pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year and an amount of fine exceeding five thousand rupees:
Provided further that when at the commencement of, or in the course of, a summary trial under this section, it appears to the Magistrate that the nature of the case is such that a sentence of imprisonment for a term exceeding one year may have to be passed or that it is, for any other reason, undesirable to try the case summarily, the Magistrate shall after hearing the parties, record an order to that effect and thereafter recall any witness who may have been examined and proceed to hear or rehear the case in the manner provided by the said Code.
(2) The trial of a case under this section shall, so far as practicable, consistently with the interests of justice, be continued from day to day until its conclusion, unless the Court finds the adjournment of the trial beyond the following day to be necessary for reasons to be recorded in writing.
(3) Every trial under this section shall be conducted as expeditiously as possible and an endeavour shall be made to conclude the trial within six months from the date of filing of the complaint. 2[