Compounding and Recovery
Chapter One Hundred Thirteen
Syllabus topic 4.3, "Cyber Crimes, Penalties and Adjudication"
Pages 725 to 730 of 948
In one line
A contravention may be compounded by an official under section 63 and an offence only by a court under section 77A, and what is awarded and not paid is recovered as an arrear of land revenue with the offender's licence suspended.
Section 63: compounding a contravention
Sub-section (1): any contravention under this Act may, either before or after the institution of adjudication proceedings, be compounded by:
the Controller, or an officer specially authorised by him in this behalf, or the adjudicating officer, as the case may be,
subject to such conditions as that person may specify.
The proviso: the sum shall not in any case exceed the maximum amount of the penalty which may be imposed under the Act for the contravention compounded.
Sub-section (2), the three-year bar: sub-section (1) shall not apply to a person who commits the same or similar contravention within three years from the date on which the first contravention was compounded.
The Explanation makes the position workable: any second or subsequent contravention committed after the expiry of three years from the date of the previous compounding is deemed to be a first contravention. So the clock resets, and a person may compound again once three years have run.
Sub-section (3): where a contravention has been compounded, no proceeding or further proceeding shall be taken against that person in respect of the contravention so compounded.
Rule 11 of the 2003 Rules adds the machinery. An application may be made during the adjudication proceedings; and the proviso permits an application even before the contravention is reported, in which case the contravener must himself state the contravention committed, the likely loss to the various parties, and the amount of compensatory damages tendered. The sum determined is deposited in the office of the adjudicating officer, and may not exceed the maximum penalty. Chapter 1120.
Note what section 63 does not require: no consent of the person affected, and no hearing of that person. Compounding under this section is a transaction between the contravener and the official, and the compounding sum is a payment to the State, not compensation to the victim.
Section 63 against section 77A
This is the distinction, and it is worth a table.
| Section 63 | Section 77A | |
|---|---|---|
| What is compounded | A contravention, that is a civil default under Chapter IX | An offence under Chapter XI |
| Who compounds | The Controller, an officer he authorises, or the adjudicating officer | A court of competent jurisdiction |
| When | Before or after the institution of adjudication proceedings | On an application in the court where the offence is pending trial |
| Limit on the sum | Not exceeding the maximum penalty for the contravention | Set by the court |
| Bars | The same or similar contravention within three years of a previous compounding | Offences punishable with life or more than three years; where the accused is liable to enhanced or different punishment by reason of a previous conviction; and where the offence affects the socio-economic conditions of the country or is against a child below eighteen or a woman |
| Procedure | Rule 11 of the 2003 Rules | Sections 265B and 265C of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, now sections 291 and 292 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 |
| Effect | No further proceeding on the compounded contravention | Discharge or acquittal in the ordinary way |
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