Bombay High Court Cheque Bounce Case: The Bombay High Court has ordered the release of Cyrus Noshirwan Kartak, who had been facing a 17-year jail term in cheque bounce cases. The court said his long detention was “unjust, unconscionable and unjustifiable.” The case was heard by Justice N. J. Jamadar, and the order was passed on May 5, 2026. The matter is listed on the Bombay High Court’s own recent orders page as Cyrus Noshirwan Kartak vs State of Maharashtra.
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What was the Case about?
Kartak was convicted in May 2017 by a Metropolitan Magistrate in Andheri in 17 separate complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The dispute was over unpaid dues of more than ₹22.68 crore. He was given 15 months of simple imprisonment in each case, but those main prison terms were to run together.
The problem came later, when the court also ordered compensation and said he would have to spend another 12 months in jail in each case if he did not pay. Those default sentences were made to run one after another, which turned into a very long prison term.
Why the High Court Intervened?
Justice Jamadar found a serious legal problem in that order. The court said a default sentence cannot be longer than one-fourth of the maximum punishment for the offence. Since cheque bouncing can lead to a maximum of two years in prison, the default sentence could not legally go beyond six months.
The court said, “Sentence of 12 months imprisonment is clearly in teeth of the mandate contained in Section 65 of the IPC and Section 30 of the Code, 1973. These mandates are absolute,”. It also said detention for default of compensation for such a long period was “ex-facie unreasonable, excessively harsh and shockingly disproportionate”.
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The High Court also pointed out that even if Kartak served the default sentence, that would not erase his duty to pay compensation. The court said that if the money could still be recovered through the legal process under the Code of Criminal Procedure, then keeping him locked up longer made no sense in law. Since he had already spent more than seven and a half years in Nashik Road Central Prison, the court limited the default sentence to the time he had already served and ordered his immediate release.
Advocate Mohit Bharadwaj appeared for Kartak. Additional public prosecutor PP Malshe appeared for the State. Advocates Snehankita M Munj, Shraddha Kamble and Jatin Karia (Shah) appeared for the complainant.
