The Supreme Court in Kumaran Vs State of Kerala & Anr. has held that compensation ordered by the court would be recoverable even though a default sentence has been suffered. A bench comprising Justice RF Nariman and Justice Navin Sinha upheld a Kerala High Court decision that had approved the order of magistrate by invoking Section 421 CrPC issuing a distress warrant against the accused for realising compensation ordered in a cheque bounce case but for different reasoning. The order of the high court was assailed before the apex court on the ground that compensation under Section 357(3) would be covered by the proviso if the accused has undergone the default sentence awarded and special reasons in writing would have to be recorded before action under Section 421 can be initiated. The court observed that the objective of the legal fiction created by Section 431 is to extend for the purpose of recovery of compensation until such recovery is completed – and this would not o...