Judiciary Determining The Ambit Of Section 138 Of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881

Nandini Bagri, B.B.A. LL.B, New Law College, Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be university)

INTRODUCTION

Cheque dishonour and cheque bounce are the legal phrases used when someone writes a cheque in someone else's benefit and that cheque is returned when it is presented to the bank for encashment. A cheque that bounces due to insufficient cash is subject to criminal provisions under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act , 1881 (hereinafter “NI ACT”)1. A violation of Section 138 of the NI Act occurs when a cheque bounces because there are not enough money in the drawer's amount. The legal notification for cheque bounce, however, is one of the most crucial procedures to be followed in accordance with the aforementioned regulation. Recently, in 2023, three important judgements of different High Courts regarding this provision came. The first one is Prashant Chandra vs. State of UP thru. Prin. Secy. Home, Lko. And Others given by the Allahabad High Court; the second one is Dolma Devi vs. Roshan Lal given by the Shimla High Court; and the last one is H G Retail Solutions Pvt. Ltd. v. Rajiv Kumar Saxena given by the Delhi High Court. Through these rulings, one seeks to understand the reach of Section 138.