{"id":240707,"date":"2020-12-15T16:30:41","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T11:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=240707"},"modified":"2020-12-17T11:51:08","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T06:21:08","slug":"bom-hc-does-ni-act-authorises-a-complaintant-to-fill-an-incomplete-cheque-court-discusses-while-reversing-acquittal-of-accused-under-s-138-ni-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2020\/12\/15\/bom-hc-does-ni-act-authorises-a-complaintant-to-fill-an-incomplete-cheque-court-discusses-while-reversing-acquittal-of-accused-under-s-138-ni-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Bom HC | Does NI Act authorises a complainant to fill an incomplete cheque? Court discusses while reversing acquittal of accused under S. 138 NI Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bombay High Court:\u00a0<\/strong>Vibha Kankanwadi, J., reversed the acquittal of the respondent-accused holding him guilty of having committed an offence under Section 138 (dishonour of cheque<\/i>) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.<\/p>\n

Facts on record<\/span><\/h3>\n

The complainant had come with a case wherein he stated he had friendly relations with the accused. Since the accused was in need of money to purchase immovable property, therefore he requested the complainant to extend the amount of Rs 15,00,000 and Rs 6,00,00 which was extended by the complainant.<\/p>\n

In regard to the above legal enforceable debt or liability, two cheques were issued.<\/p>\n

On depositing the above cheques, both were dishonoured for the reason “refer to drawer”.<\/p>\n

In light of the above circumstances, the complainant filed two separate complaints and Magistrate on taking into consideration the above said facts, acquitted the accused.<\/p>\n

In view of the above, the present appeal has been filed.<\/p>\n

Advocate for the complainant relied on the decision of\u00a0Vijay v. Laxman,\u00a0<\/em>2013 STPL (DC) 679 SC, wherein it was held that:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe burden of proving the consideration for dishonour of cheque is on the complainant, but the burden of proving that a cheque had not been issued for discharge of a legally enforceable debt or liability is on the accused. If he fails to discharge the said burden he is liable to be convicted.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In view of the above decision, Complainant’s Counsel submitted that trial judge committed illegality and the decision was in view of the legal position and therefore the appeal deserved to be allowed.<\/p>\n

Analysis, Law and Decision<\/span><\/h3>\n

Whether the complainant has discharged the initial burden to prove that he had advanced loan to the accused?<\/p>\n

With regard to the amount of Rs 15,00,000, it was held that as regards the said amount, the complainant discharged the initial burden of proof that he has advanced loan to the accused.<\/p>\n

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In his statement under Section 313 of the CrPC, accused did not state that he was holding such account, on which the cheque was issued by the complainant and he did not specifically state that he had not received the amount through the said account.<\/p>\n

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Bench stated that the complainant had proved that it was legally enforceable debt or liability, which was to the extent of Rs 15,00,000 as against the accused.<\/p>\n

As regards the other disputed cheque i.e. amount of Rs 6,00,000, complainant stated he had given the said amount by cash.<\/p>\n

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In this case, also it can be said that the complainant has discharged the initial burden of proof that he had advanced amount of Rs 6,00,000 as a loan to the accused.<\/p>\n

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In the instant case, the accused did not deny his signature on the disputed cheques. Though he came with a defence, as to how those cheques went into the possession of the complainant, but as aforesaid that defence is unbelievable.<\/p>\n

Bench stated that even if for the sake of arguments we admit that the disputed cheques were blank cheques; yet, when accused admits his\/her signatures on the disputed cheques, then the legal position on this point is also clear that the complainant would get an authority under Section 20 of Negotiable Instruments Act to complete the incomplete cheque.<\/p>\n

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When now the position stands that the complainant has discharged the initial burden, accused admits his signature on the disputed cheques; then presumption under Section 139 of the Negotiable Instruments Act definitely gets attracted in favour of the complainant.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The complainant was the \u2018holder of cheques\u2019 and therefore, was entitled to present the same for encashment. Both the cheques were dishonoured.<\/p>\n

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Statutory notices issued by the complainant were complied with, and therefore, Court held that the accused is guilty of committing the offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.<\/p>\n

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Magistrate did not scan the evidence properly with sound legal principles and therefore, interference of this Court was required.<\/p>\n

Bench relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in\u00a0Govindaraju v. State,\u00a0<\/em>(2012) 4 SCC 722<\/a>, with regard to the powers of the Appellate Court, wherein it was observed that:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe law is well-settled that an appeal against an order of acquittal is also an appeal under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and an appellate Court has every power to re-appreciate, review and reconsider the evidence before it, as a whole. It is no doubt true that there is presumption of innocence in favour of the accused and that presumption is reinforced by an order of acquittal recorded by the trial Court. But that is the end of the matter. It is for the Appellate Court to keep in view the relevant principles of law to re-appreciate and reweigh the evidence as a whole and to come to its own conclusion on such evidence, in consonance with the principles of criminal jurisprudence\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Honest drawers\u2019 interest who issue cheques is safeguarded in the Act itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd v. Galaxy Traders & Agencies Ltd.,<\/em> (2001) 6 SCC 463<\/a>, the Supreme Court has explained the scope of offence under Section 138 of the NI Act.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0R. Vijayan v. Baby,\u00a0<\/em>(2012) 1 SCC 260<\/a>, Supreme Court held that while awarding compensation in matters under Section 138 NI Act, interest can be awarded @9% p.a.<\/p>\n

Court stated that in view of the above decisions, awarding jail sentence to the respondent\/accused may not be in the interest of justice.<\/p>\n

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Bench also added to its decision that the appellant would also be interested in getting his amount back. Therefore, payment of compensation under Section 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to the complainant would be in the interest of justice.<\/p>\n

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The punishment that can be awarded for an offence under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act is \u201c imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to twice the amount of the cheque, or both\u201d (stress supplied by me).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Since the complaint was filed in 2013 after the statutory notice. The amount became due to complainant after the date of the notice.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Some amount needs to be given to complainant above the cheque amount towards interest.<\/p>\n

Since the rate of interest in banks has gone down nowadays, and therefore, the said rate cannot be equal to the rate granted in R. Vijayan\u2019s case.<\/span><\/p>\n

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After taking into consideration all the above pronouncements it would be in the interest of both the parties to impose fine of Rs 18,00,000 and Rs 8,00,000 in respective cases and to direct the amount of Rs 17,50,000 and Rs 7,50,000 to be paid to complainant as compensation under Section 357(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Deposit time will not be extended. [Kiran Rameshlal Bhandari v. Narayan Purushottam Sarada, 2020 SCC OnLine Bom 3562<\/b><\/a>, decided on 07-12-2020]<\/p>\n

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Advocates who appeared for the matter:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Shyam C. Arora, Advocate for the appellant<\/strong>
\nAmol Kakade, Advocate h\/f C.D. Fernandes, Advocate for respondent<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bombay High Court:\u00a0Vibha Kankanwadi, J., reversed the acquittal of the respondent-accused holding him guilty of having committed an offence under Section 138 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8808,"featured_media":74381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[44486,3228,2862,44485,29785,2538,23584,33580,33383],"class_list":["post-240707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-advance-loan","tag-burden_of_proof","tag-dishonour_of_cheque","tag-holder-of-cheques","tag-law","tag-Magistrate","tag-section-138-ni-act","tag-section-139-ni-act","tag-statutory-notice"],"yoast_head":"\nBom HC | Does NI Act authorises a complainant to fill an incomplete cheque? 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Shriram, J., dismissed a criminal appeal filed against the order of the trial court whereby it had acquitted the accused of charges under Section 138\u00a0(dishonour of cheque)\u00a0of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. As per the complainant, she had given a loan of Rs 4.5 lakhs to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":375720,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/16\/acquittal-in-cheque-dishonour-complainant-challenge-appeal-not-revision-ker-hc\/","url_meta":{"origin":240707,"position":1},"title":"Cheque dishonour complainant is a ‘victim’; Acquittal must be challenged by appeal, not revision: Kerala HC","author":"Sunaina","date":"February 16, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cA complainant under Section 138 of the NI Act is a victim as defined in Section 2(wa) CrPC as the expression 'victim' includes not only the person who has suffered any loss or injury caused by reason of any act or omission for which the accused person has been charged,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Acquittal in cheque dishonour case","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Acquittal-in-cheque-dishonour-case.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Acquittal-in-cheque-dishonour-case.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Acquittal-in-cheque-dishonour-case.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Acquittal-in-cheque-dishonour-case.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":255796,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2021\/10\/18\/dishonour-of-cheque-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":240707,"position":2},"title":"Mere denial is useless, Presumption under S. 138 NI Act can be rebutted only by leading cogent evidence: Court holds accused guilty where “payment stopped by drawer”","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"October 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Saket Courts, New Delhi: Swati Gupta, Metropolitan Magistrate reiterated what is expected of an accused to rebut the statutory presumption against him in cases of cheque dishonour under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. Brief facts Complainant and accused had entered into an agreement to sell the property\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Saket Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/District-Court-Saket.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/District-Court-Saket.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/District-Court-Saket.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/District-Court-Saket.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/District-Court-Saket.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":258158,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2021\/12\/06\/dishonour-of-cheque-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":240707,"position":3},"title":"When does burden of proof shift to accused to rebut statutory presumption in cheque bounce cases under S. 138 NI Act? CMM Court considers","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"December 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Court of XX Addl. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Bengaluru City: Bhola Pandit, XX Addl. CMM, convicted a person who presented a cheque to repay a loan but the same was dishonored due to insufficient funds. Instant complaint was filed under Section 200 of Code of Criminal procedure against the accused of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/City-Civil-Court-Bengaluru.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/City-Civil-Court-Bengaluru.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/City-Civil-Court-Bengaluru.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/City-Civil-Court-Bengaluru.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/City-Civil-Court-Bengaluru.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":208819,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2019\/01\/28\/mad-hc-unlawful-for-holder-of-cheque-to-fill-date-and-amount-in-blank-cheque-beyond-knowledge-of-accused-execution-of-cheque-explained\/","url_meta":{"origin":240707,"position":4},"title":"Madras HC | Unlawful for holder of cheque to fill date and amount in blank cheque beyond knowledge of accused; execution of cheque explained","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"January 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Madras High Court: The Bench of M.V. Muralidharan, J. upheld the order of respondent's\u00a0acquittal for an offence punishable under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 while holding that\u00a0\"the different ink, pen, and manipulation of the amount would show that the complainant had failed to demonstrate due execution of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":255925,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2021\/10\/21\/presumption-and-rebuttal-under-ni-act\/","url_meta":{"origin":240707,"position":5},"title":"Presumption and Rebuttal under NI Act: Read Court’s verdict discussing onus of proof and nature of defence where “payment stopped by drawer”","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"October 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Mayo Hall Unit, Bengaluru: Vani A. Shetty, XVII Additional Judge, Court of Small Causes & ACMM, addressed a matter with respect to the liability of the accused in a case of dishonour of cheque under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. In the present\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/DISHONOUR-OF-CHEQUE.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/DISHONOUR-OF-CHEQUE.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/DISHONOUR-OF-CHEQUE.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/DISHONOUR-OF-CHEQUE.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/DISHONOUR-OF-CHEQUE.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8808"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}