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Cheque Dishonour

S.138 NI Act | Availability Of Funds In Other Bank Accounts Not A Defence; Cheque Dishonour Relates To Specific Account

Bysclaw

Dec 9, 2023

“In a proceeding under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the accused cannot rely upon other bank accounts for the dishonoured cheque which relates to specific bank account of the accused,”

1
ITEM NO.37 COURT NO.7 SECTION II-B
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CRIMINAL) Diary No(s).44330/2023
(Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 12-10-2023
in CRR No. 3456/2019 passed by the High Court Of Punjab & Haryana
At Chandigarh)
HARPAL SINGH Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
THE STATE OF HARYANA & ANR. Respondent(s)
( IA No.244404/2023-EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED
JUDGMENT and IA No.244405/2023-CONDONATION OF DELAY IN REFILING /
CURING THE DEFECTS and IA No.244403/2023-PERMISSION TO FILE
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS/FACTS/ANNEXURES )
Date : 04-12-2023 This petition was called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE HRISHIKESH ROY
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY KAROL
For Petitioner(s) Mr. Maninder Singh, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Vaibhav Manu Srivastava, AOR
Mr. Apoorv Agarwal, Adv.
Mr. Maitreya Saha, Adv.
Ms. Riya Thomas, Adv.

For Respondent(s) Mr. Himanshu Sharma, AOR
Mr. Lokesh Solanki, Adv.
Mr. Prateek Bajaj, Adv.
Ms. Muskan Chauhan, Adv.

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R
Delay condoned.
2. Heard Mr. Maninder Singh, learned Senior Counsel appearing for
the petitioner.
3. The counsel would submit that the concerned bank account was
frozen by the police on 10.03.2015 and therefore the petitioner

should not face conviction for the offence, under Section 138 of
the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881.
4. However, it is seen from the impugned judgment itself that
although ten cheques totaling a sum of Rupees Eighty Lakhs was
issued by the petitioner, at the relevant point of time, the
concerned bank account had maximum deposit of Rs. 18,52,033/-. This
would indicate that the benefit of the judgment relied upon by the
petitioner to point out his incapacity in operating the bank
account, will not aid the petitioner.
5. The Senior Counsel would then refer to the funds available
with the petitioner in different bank accounts, as shown from
Annexure P-12, to say that the petitioner had sufficient balance in
those bank accounts.
6. In a proceeding under Section 138 of the Negotiable
Instruments Act, the accused cannot rely upon other bank accounts
for the dishonoured cheque which relates to specific bank account
of the accused. Accordingly, the argument advanced by Mr. Maninder
Singh, learned Senior Counsel of having adequate funds by reference
to the other bank accounts of the company, cannot be of any
assistance to the accused. The Special Leave Petition is therefore
found devoid of merit and the same is dismissed.
7. Pending application(s), if any, also stand closed.
(DEEPAK JOSHI) (KAMLESH RAWAT)
COURT MASTER (SH) ASSISTANT REGISTRAR

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