Msr Leathers Vs S. Palaniappan

26 September 2012
Supreme Court
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MSR LEATHERS Vs S. PALANIAPPAN

Bench: R.M. LODHA,T.S. THAKUR,ANIL R. DAVE
Case number: Crl.A. No.-000261-000264 / 2002
Diary number: 4771 / 2001
Advocates: ARPUTHAM ARUNA AND CO Vs K. K. MANI

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REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NOS.261-264 OF 2002

MSR Leathers …Appellant

Versus

S. Palaniappan & Anr. …Respondents

J U D G M E N T

T.S. THAKUR, J.

1. In Sadanandan Bhadran v. Madhavan Sunil

Kumar (1998) 6 SCC 514, this Court was dealing with a

case under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act,

1881 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) in which the

complainant had, after dishonour of a cheque issued in his

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favour, taken steps to serve upon the accused-drawer of

the cheque a notice under clause (b) of proviso to Section

138 of the Act. No complaint was, however, filed by the

complainant despite failure of the accused to arrange the

payment of the amount covered by the cheque. Instead,

the complainant-payee of the cheque had presented the

cheque for collection once again, which was dishonoured a

second time for want of sufficient funds. Another notice was

served on the drawer of the cheque to arrange payment

within fifteen days of receipt of said notice. Only after

failure of drawer to do so did the payee file a complaint

against the former under Section 138 of the Act.

2. After entering appearance, the drawer filed an

application seeking discharge on the ground that the payee

could not create more than one cause of action in respect

of a single cheque and the complaint in question having

been filed on the basis of the second presentation and

resultant second cause of action was not maintainable. The

Magistrate accepted that contention relying upon a Division

Bench decision of Kerala High Court in Kumaresan v.

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Ameerappa (1991) 1 Ker L.T. 893 and dismissed the

complaint. The order passed by the Magistrate was then

questioned before the High Court of Kerala who relying

upon Kumaresan’s case (supra) upheld the order passed

by the Magistrate. The matter was eventually brought up

to this Court by special leave. This Court formulated the

following question for determination:

“Whether payee or holder of cheque can initiate proceeding of prosecution under Section 138 of Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881 for the second time if he has not initiated any action on earlier cause of action?”

3. Answering the question in the negative this Court held

that a combined reading of Sections 138 and 142 of the Act

left no room for doubt that cause of action under Section

142(b) can arise only once. The conclusion observed by the

court is supported not only by Sections 138 and 142 but

also by the fact that the dishonour of cheque gives rise to

the commission of offence only on the failure to pay money

when a notice is served upon the drawer in accordance with

clause (b) of the proviso to Section 138. The Court further

held that if the concept of successive causes of action were

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to be accepted the same would make the limitation under

Section 142(b) otiose. The Court observed:

“7. Besides the language of Sections 138 and 142 which clearly postulates only one cause of action, there are other formidable impediments which negate the concept of successive causes of action. One of them is that for dishonour of one cheque, there can be only one offence and such offence is committed by the drawer immediately on his failure to make the payment within fifteen days of the receipt of the notice served in accordance with clause (b) of the proviso to Section 138. That necessarily means that for similar failure after service of fresh notice on subsequent dishonour, the drawer cannot be liable for any offence nor can the first offence be treated as non est so as to give the payee a right to file a complaint treating the second offence as the first one. At that stage, it will not be a question of waiver of the right of the payee to prosecute the drawer but of absolution of the drawer of an offence, which stands already committed by him and which cannot be committed by him again.

8. The other impediment to the acceptance of the concept of successive causes of action is that it will make the period of limitation under clause (c) of Section 142 otiose, for, a payee who failed to file his complaint within one month and thereby forfeited his right to prosecute the drawer, can circumvent the above limitative clause by filing a complaint on the basis of a fresh presentation of the cheque and its dishonour. Since in the interpretation of statutes, the court always presumes that the legislature inserted every part thereof for a purpose and the legislative intention is that every part should have effect, the above conclusion cannot be drawn for that will make the provision for limiting the period of making the complaint nugatory.”

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4. The Court then tried to reconcile the apparently

conflicting provisions of the Act - one enabling the payee to

present the cheque and the other giving him opportunity to

file a complaint within one month and observed:

“…..Having given our anxious consideration to this question, we are of the opinion that the above two provisions can be harmonised, with the interpretation that on each presentation of the cheque and its dishonour, a fresh right — and not cause of action — accrues in his favour. He may, therefore, without taking pre-emptory action in exercise of his such right under clause (b) of Section 138, go on presenting the cheque so as to enable him to exercise such right at any point of time during the validity of the cheque. But once he gives a notice under clause (b) of Section 138, he forfeits such right for in case of failure of the drawer to pay the money within the stipulated time, he would be liable for offence and the cause of action for filing the complaint will arise. Needless to say, the period of one month for filing the complaint will be reckoned from the day immediately following the day on which the period of fifteen days from the date of the receipt of the notice by the drawer expires.”

5. The Court accordingly dismissed the appeal while

affirming the decision of the Kerala High Court in

Kumaresan’s case (supra), no matter the same had been

in the meantime overruled by a decision of the Full Bench

of that Court in S.K.D. Lakshmanan Fireworks

Industries v. K.V. Sivarama Krishnan (1995) Cri L J

1384 (Ker).

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6. When the present appeal first came up for hearing

before a bench comprising Markandey Katju and B.

Sudershan Reddy, JJ., reliance on behalf of respondents

was placed upon the decision of this Court in Sadanandan

Bhadran’s case (supra) to argue that the complaint in the

instant case had also been filed on the basis of the second

dishonour of a cheque after the payee of the cheque had

issued a notice to the drawer under clause (b) of the

proviso to Section 138 of the Act based on an earlier

dishonour. On the ratio of Sadanandan Bhadran’s case

(supra) such a complaint was not maintainable, argued the

respondents. The Court, however, expressed its reservation

about the correctness of the view taken in Sadanandan

Bhadran’s case (supra) especially in para 9 thereof and

accordingly referred the matter to a larger Bench. That is

precisely how the present appeal has come up for hearing

before us. It is, therefore, evident that this Court has

repeatedly followed the view taken in Sadanandan

Bhadran’s case (supra). But a careful reading of these

decisions reveals that in these subsequent decisions there

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had been no addition to the ratio underlying the conclusion

in Sadanandan Bhadran’s case (supra).

7. Before adverting to the submissions that were urged

at the Bar we may briefly summarise the facts in the

backdrop of which the issue arises for our determination.

Four cheques for a total sum of rupees ten lakhs were

issued by the respondent-company on 14th August, 1996 in

favour of the appellant which were presented to the bank

for collection on 21st November, 1996. The cheques were

dishonoured in terms of memo dated 22nd November, 1996

for insufficiency of funds. A notice under clause (b) of

proviso to Section 138 was then issued by the appellant to

the respondent on 8th January, 1997 demanding payment of

the amount covered by the cheques. Despite receipt of the

notice by the respondent the payment was not arranged.

The appellant’s case is that the respondent assured the

appellant that the funds necessary for the encashment of

the cheques shall be made available by the respondent, for

which purpose the cheques could be presented again to the

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bank concerned. The cheques were accordingly presented

for the second time to the bank on 21st January, 1997 and

were dishonoured for a second time in terms of a memo

dated 22nd January, 1997 once again on the ground of

insufficiency of funds. A statutory notice issued by the

appellant under clause (b) of proviso to Section 138 of the

Act on 28th January, 1997 called upon the respondent-

drawer of the cheques to arrange payment of the amount

within 15 days. Despite receipt of the said notice on 3rd

February, 1997, no payment was arranged which led to the

filing of Complaint Case No.1556-1557/1997 by the

appellant before the II Metropolitan Magistrate, Madras for

the offence punishable under Section 138 read with Section

142 of the Act. The Magistrate took cognizance and issued

summons to the respondents in response whereto the

respondents entered appearance and sought discharge

primarily on the ground that the complaint had not been

filed within 30 days of the expiry of the notice based on the

first dishonour of the cheque. It was also alleged that the

statutory notice which formed the basis of the complaint

had not been served upon the accused persons. The

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Magistrate upon consideration dismissed the applications

for discharge which order was then assailed by the

respondents before the High Court of Madras in Criminal

Appeal Nos. 618, 624, 664, 665/2000.

8. The High Court has, by the order impugned in this

appeal, allowed the revision and quashed the orders passed

by the Magistrate relying upon the decision of this Court in

Sadanandan Bhadran’s case (supra) according to which a

complaint based on a second or successive dishonour of the

cheque was not maintainable if no complaint based on an

earlier dishonour, followed by the statutory notice issued on

the basis thereof, had been filed.

9. Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881,

constituting Chapter XVII of the Act which was introduced

by Act 66 of 1988, inter alia, provides:

“138. Dishonour of cheque for insufficiency, etc., of funds in the account. Where any cheque drawn by a person on an account maintained by him with a banker for payment of any amount of money to another person from out of that account for the discharge, in whole or in part, of any debt or other liability, is returned by the bank unpaid, either because of the amount of money

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standing to the credit of that account is insufficient to honour the cheque or that it exceeds the amount arranged to be paid from that account by an agreement made with that bank, such person shall be deemed to have committed an offence and shall, without prejudice. to any other provision of this Act, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two year, or with fine which may extend to twice the amount of the cheque, or with both”

10. Proviso to Section 138, however, is all important and

stipulates three distinct conditions precedent, which must

be satisfied before the dishonour of a cheque can constitute

an offence and become punishable. The first condition is

that the cheque ought to have been presented to the bank

within a period of six months from the date on which it is

drawn or within the period of its validity, whichever is

earlier. The second condition is that the payee or the holder

in due course of the cheque, as the case may be, ought to

make a demand for the payment of the said amount of

money by giving a notice in writing, to the drawer of the

cheque, within thirty days of the receipt of information by

him from the bank regarding the return of the cheque as

unpaid. The third condition is that the drawer of such a

cheque should have failed to make payment of the said

amount of money to the payee or as the case may be, to

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the holder in due course of the cheque within fifteen days of

the receipt of the said notice. It is only upon the satisfaction

of all the three conditions mentioned above and

enumerated under the proviso to Section 138 as clauses

(a), (b) and (c) thereof that an offence under Section 138

can be said to have been committed by the person issuing

the cheque.

11. Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act governs

taking of cognizance of the offence and starts with a non-

obstante clause. It provides that no court shall take

cognizance of any offence punishable under Section 138

except upon a complaint, in writing, made by the payee or,

as the case may be, by the holder in due course and such

complaint is made within one month of the date on which

the cause of action arises under clause (c) of the proviso to

Section 138. In terms of sub-section (c) to Section 142, no

court inferior to that of a Metropolitan Magistrate or a

Judicial Magistrate of the first class is competent to try any

offence punishable under Section 138.

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12. A careful reading of the above provisions makes it

manifest that a complaint under Section 138 can be filed

only after cause of action to do so has accrued in terms of

clause (c) of proviso to Section 138 which, as noticed

earlier, happens no sooner than when the drawer of the

cheque fails to make the payment of the cheque amount to

the payee or the holder of the cheque within 15 days of the

receipt of the notice required to be sent in terms of clause

(b) of proviso to Section 138 of the Act.

13. What is important is that neither Section 138 nor

Section 142 or any other provision contained in the Act

forbids the holder or payee of the cheque from presenting

the cheque for encashment on any number of occasions

within a period of six months of its issue or within the

period of its validity, whichever is earlier. That such

presentation will be perfectly legal and justified was not

disputed before us even at the Bar by learned counsel

appearing for the parties and rightly so in light of the

judicial pronouncements on that question which are all

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unanimous. Even Sadanandan Bhadran’s case (supra)

the correctness whereof we are examining, recognized that

the holder or the payee of the cheque has the right to

present the same any number of times for encashment

during the period of six months or during the period of its

validity, whichever is earlier.

14. Presentation of the cheque and dishonour thereof

within the period of its validity or a period of six months is

just one of the three requirements that constitutes ‘cause

of action’ within the meaning of Sections 138 and 142(b) of

the Act, an expression that is more commonly used in civil

law than in penal statutes. For a dishonour to culminate

into the commission of an offence of which a court may

take cognizance, there are two other requirements,

namely, (a) service of a notice upon the drawer of the

cheque to make payment of the amount covered by the

cheque and (b) failure of the drawer to make any such

payment within the stipulated period of 15 days of the

receipt of such a notice. It is only when the said two

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conditions are superadded to the dishonour of the cheque

that the holder/payee of the cheque acquires the right to

institute proceedings for prosecution under Section 138 of

the Act, which right remains legally enforceable for a period

of 30 days counted from the date on which the cause of

action accrued to him. There is, however, nothing in the

proviso to Section 138 or Section 142 for that matter, to

oblige the holder/payee of a dishonoured cheque to

necessarily file a complaint even when he has acquired an

indefeasible right to do so. The fact that an offence is

complete need not necessarily lead to launch of prosecution

especially when the offence is not a cognizable one. It

follows that the complainant may, even when he has the

immediate right to institute criminal proceedings against

the drawer of the cheque, either at the request of the

holder/payee of the cheque or on his own volition, refrain

from instituting the proceedings based on the cause of

action that has accrued to him. Such a decision to defer

prosecution may be impelled by several considerations but

more importantly it may be induced by an assurance which

the drawer extends to the holder of the cheque that given

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some time the payment covered by the cheques would be

arranged, in the process rendering a time consuming and

generally expensive legal recourse unnecessary. It may

also be induced by a belief that a fresh presentation of the

cheque may result in encashment for a variety of reasons

including the vicissitudes of trade and business dealings

where financial accommodation given by the parties to each

other is not an unknown phenomenon. Suffice it to say

that there is nothing in the provisions of the Act that

forbids the holder/payee of the cheque to demand by

service of a fresh notice under clause (b) of proviso to

Section 138 of the Act, the amount covered by the cheque,

should there be a second or a successive dishonour of the

cheque on its presentation.

15. Sadanandan Bhadran’s case (supra) holds that

while a second or successive presentation of the cheque is

legally permissible so long as such presentation is within

the period of six months or the validity of the cheque

whichever is earlier, the second or subsequent dishonour of

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the cheque would not entitle the holder/payee to issue a

statutory notice to the drawer nor would it entitle him to

institute legal proceedings against the drawer in the event

he fails to arrange the payment. The decision gives three

distinct reasons why that should be so. The first and the

foremost of these reasons is the use of the expression

“cause of action” in Section 142(b) of the Act which

according to the Court has been used in a restrictive sense

and must therefore be understood to mean that cause of

action under Section 142(b) can arise but once. The

second reason cited for the view taken in the Sadanandan

Bhadran’s case (supra) is that dishonour of a cheque will

lead to commission of only one offence and that the offence

is complete no sooner the drawer fails to make the

payment of the cheque amount within a period of 15 days

of the receipt of the notice served upon him. The Court has

not pressed into service the doctrine of “waiver of the right

to prosecute” but held that the failure of the holder to

institute proceedings would tantamount to “absolution” of

the drawer of the offence committed by him. The third and

the only other reason is that successive causes of action

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will militate against the provisions of Section 142(b) and

make the said provision otiose. The Court in Sadanandan

Bhadran’s case (supra) held that the failure of the

drawer/payee to file a complaint within one month resulted

in forfeiture of the complainant’s right to prosecute the

drawer/payee which forfeiture cannot be circumvented by

him by presenting the cheque afresh and inviting a

dishonour to be followed by a fresh notice and a delayed

complaint on the basis thereof.

16. With utmost respect to the Judges who decided

Sadanandan Bhadran’s case (supra) we regret our

inability to fall in line with the above line of reasoning to

hold that while a cheque is presented afresh the right to

prosecute the drawer, if the cheque is dishonoured, is

forfeited only because the previous dishonour had not

resulted in immediate prosecution of the offender even

when a notice under clause (b) of proviso to Section 138

had been served upon the drawer. We are conscious of the

fact that Sadanandan Bhadran’s case (supra) has been

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followed in several subsequent decisions of this Court such

as in Sil Import, USA v. Exim Aides Silk Exporters,

Bangalore, (1999) 4 SCC 567, Uniplas India Ltd. and

Ors. v. State (Govt. of NCT Delhi) and Anr., (2001) 6

SCC 8, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd. v. Galaxy

Traders & Agencies Ltd. and Anr., (2001) 6 SCC 463,

Prem Chand Vijay Kumar v. Yashpal Singh and Anr.,

(2005) 4 SCC 417, S.L. Constructions and Anr. v.

Alapati Srinivasa Rao and Anr., (2009) 1 SCC 500,

Tameshwar Vaishnav v. Ramvishal Gupta, (2010) 2

SCC 329.

17. All these decisions have without disturbing or making

any addition to the rationale behind the decision in

Sadanandan Bhadran’s case (supra) followed the

conclusion drawn in the same. We, therefore, propose to

deal with the three dimensions that have been highlighted

in that case while holding that successive causes of action

are not within the comprehension of Sections 138 and 142

of the Act.

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18. The expression ‘cause of action’ is more commonly

and easily understood in the realm of civil laws. The

expression is not defined anywhere in the Code of Civil

Procedure to which it generally bears relevance but has

been universally understood to mean the bundle of facts

which the plaintiff must prove in order to entitle him to

succeed in the suit. (See State of Madras v. C.P.

Agencies AIR 1960 SC 1309; Rajasthan High Court

Advocates Association v. U.O.I. & Ors. AIR 2001 SC

416 and Mohamed Khaleel Khan v. Mahaboob Ali Mia

AIR 1949 PC 78).

19. Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act is

perhaps the only penal provision in a statute which uses

the expression ‘cause of action’ in relation to the

commission of an offence or the institution of a complaint

for the prosecution of the offender. A careful reading of

Sections 138 and 142, as noticed above, makes it

abundantly clear that the cause of action to institute a

complaint comprises the three different factual

prerequisites for the institution of a complaint to which we

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have already referred in the earlier part of this order.

None of these prerequisites is in itself sufficient to

constitute a complete cause of action for an offence under

Section 138. For instance if a cheque is not presented

within a period of six months from the date on which it is

drawn or within the period of its validity, whichever is

earlier, no cause of action would accrue to the holder of the

cheque even when the remaining two requirements, namely

service of a notice and failure of the drawer to make the

payment of the cheque amount are established on facts. So

also presentation of the cheque within the stipulated period

without service of a notice in terms of Section 138 proviso

(b) would give no cause of action to the holder to prosecute

the drawer just as the failure of the drawer to make the

payment demanded on the basis of a notice that does not

satisfy the requirements of clause (b) of proviso to Section

138 would not constitute a complete cause of action.

20. The expression ‘cause of action’ appearing in Section

142 (b) of the Act cannot therefore be understood to be

limited to any given requirement out of the three

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requirements that are mandatory for launching a

prosecution on the basis of a dishonoured cheque. Having

said that, every time a cheque is presented in the manner

and within the time stipulated under the proviso to Section

138 followed by a notice within the meaning of clause (b) of

proviso to Section 138 and the drawer fails to make the

payment of the amount within the stipulated period of

fifteen days after the date of receipt of such notice, a cause

of action accrues to the holder of the cheque to institute

proceedings for prosecution of the drawer.

21. There is, in our view, nothing either in Section 138 or

Section 142 to curtail the said right of the payee, leave

alone a forfeiture of the said right for no better reason than

the failure of the holder of the cheque to institute

prosecution against the drawer when the cause of action to

do so had first arisen. Simply because the prosecution for

an offence under Section 138 must on the language of

Section 142 be instituted within one month from the date of

the failure of the drawer to make the payment does not in

our view militate against the accrual of multiple causes of

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action to the holder of the cheque upon failure of the

drawer to make the payment of the cheque amount. In the

absence of any juristic principle on which such failure to

prosecute on the basis of the first default in payment

should result in forfeiture, we find it difficult to hold that

the payee would lose his right to institute such proceedings

on a subsequent default that satisfies all the three

requirements of Section 138.

22. That brings us to the question whether an offence

punishable under Section 138 can be committed only once

as held by this Court in Sadanandan Bhadran’s case

(supra). The holder of a cheque as seen earlier can present

it before a bank any number of times within the period of

six months or during the period of its validity, whichever is

earlier. This right of the holder to present the cheque for

encashment carries with it a corresponding obligation on

the part of the drawer to ensure that the cheque drawn by

him is honoured by the bank who stands in the capacity of

an agent of the drawer vis-à-vis the holder of the cheque.

If the holder of the cheque has a right, as indeed is in the

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unanimous opinion expressed in the decisions on the

subject, there is no reason why the corresponding

obligation of the drawer should also not continue every

time the cheque is presented for encashment if it satisfies

the requirements stipulated in that clause (a) to the proviso

to Section 138. There is nothing in that proviso to even

remotely suggest that clause (a) would have no application

to a cheque presented for the second time if the same has

already been dishonoured once. Indeed if the legislative

intent was to restrict prosecution only to cases arising out

of the first dishonour of a cheque nothing prevented it from

stipulating so in clause (a) itself. In the absence of any

such provision a dishonour whether based on a second or

any successive presentation of a cheque for encashment

would be a dishonour within the meaning of Section 138

and clause (a) to proviso thereof. We have, therefore, no

manner of doubt that so long as the cheque remains unpaid

it is the continuing obligation of the drawer to make good

the same by either arranging the funds in the account on

which the cheque is drawn or liquidating the liability

otherwise. It is true that a dishonour of the cheque can be

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made a basis for prosecution of the offender but once, but

that is far from saying that the holder of the cheque does

not have the discretion to choose out of several such

defaults, one default, on which to launch such a

prosecution. The omission or the failure of the holder to

institute prosecution does not, therefore, give any

immunity to the drawer so long as the cheque is

dishonoured within its validity period and the conditions

precedent for prosecution in terms of the proviso to Section

138 are satisfied.

23. Coming then to the question whether there is anything

in Section 142(b) to suggest that prosecution based on

subsequent or successive dishonour is impermissible, we

need only mention that the limitation which Sadanandan

Bhadran’s case (supra) reads into that provision does not

appear to us to arise. We say so because while a complaint

based on a default and notice to pay must be filed within a

period of one month from the date the cause of action

accrues, which implies the date on which the period of 15

days granted to the drawer to arrange the payment

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expires, there is nothing in Section 142 to suggest that

expiry of any such limitation would absolve him of his

criminal liability should the cheque continue to get

dishonoured by the bank on subsequent presentations. So

long as the cheque is valid and so long as it is dishonoured

upon presentation to the bank, the holder’s right to

prosecute the drawer for the default committed by him

remains valid and exercisable. The argument that the

holder takes advantage by not filing a prosecution against

the drawer has not impressed us. By reason of a fresh

presentation of a cheque followed by a fresh notice in terms

of Section 138, proviso (b), the drawer gets an extended

period to make the payment and thereby benefits in terms

of further opportunity to pay to avoid prosecution. Such

fresh opportunity cannot help the defaulter on any juristic

principle, to get a complete absolution from prosecution.

24. Absolution is, at any rate, a theological concept which

implies an act of forgiving the sinner of his sins upon

confession. The expression has no doubt been used in some

judicial pronouncements, but the same stop short of

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recognizing absolution as a juristic concept. It has always

been used or understood in common parlance to convey

“setting free from guilt” or “release from a penalty”. The

use of the expression “absolution” in Sadanandan

Bhadran’s case (supra) at any rate came at a time when

proviso to Section 142(b) had not found a place on the

statute book. That proviso was added by the Negotiable

Instruments (Amendment and Miscellaneous Provisions)

Act, 2002 which read as under:

“Provided that the cognizance of a complaint may be taken by the Court after the prescribed period, if the complainant satisfies the Court that he had sufficient cause for not making a complaint within such period.”

25. The Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to

the Amendment Bill, 2002 suggests that the introduction of

this proviso was recommended by the Standing Committee

on Finance and other representatives so as to provide

discretion to the Court to waive the period of one month,

which has been prescribed for taking cognizance of a case

under the Act. This was so recognised judicially also by this

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Court in Subodh S. Salaskar v. Jayprakash M. Shah &

Anr. (2008) 13 SCC 689 where this Court observed:

“11. The [Negotiable Instruments] Act was amended in the year 2002 whereby additional powers have been conferred upon the court to take cognizance even after expiry of the period of limitation by conferring on it a discretion to waive the period of one month.

xx xx xx xx

24...The provisions of the Act being special in nature, in terms thereof the jurisdiction of the court to take cognizance of an offence under Section 138 of the Act was limited to the period of thirty days in terms of the proviso appended thereto. The Parliament only with a view to obviate the aforementioned difficulties on the part of the complainant inserted proviso to Clause (b) of Section 142 of the Act in 2002. It confers a jurisdiction upon the court to condone the delay...”

26. The proviso referred to above now permits the payee

to institute prosecution proceedings against a defaulting

drawer even after the expiry of the period of one month. If

a failure of the payee to file a complaint within a period of

one month from the date of expiry of the period of 15 days

allowed for this purpose was to result in ‘absolution’, the

proviso would not have been added to negate that

consequence. The statute as it exists today, therefore,

does not provide for ‘absolution’ simply because the period

of 30 days has expired or the payee has for some other

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reasons deferred the filing of the complaint against the

defaulter.

27. It is trite that the object underlying Section 138 of the

Act is to promote and inculcate faith in the efficacy of

banking system and its operations, giving credibility to

Negotiable Instruments in business transactions and to

create an atmosphere of faith and reliance by discouraging

people from dishonouring their commitments which are

implicit when they pay their dues through cheques. The

provision was intended to punish those unscrupulous

persons who issued cheques for discharging their liabilities

without really intending to honour the promise that goes

with the drawing up of such a negotiable instrument. It

was intended to enhance the acceptability of cheques in

settlement of liabilities by making the drawer liable for

penalties in case the cheque was dishonoured and to

safeguard and prevent harassment of honest drawers.

(See Mosaraf Hossain Khan v. Bhagheeratha Engg.

Ltd. (2006) 3 SCC 658, C.C. Alavi Haji v. Palapetty

Muhammed & Anr. (2007) 6 SCC 555 and Damodar S.

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Prabhu v. Sayed Babulal H. (2010) 5 SCC 663).

Having said that, we must add that one of the salutary

principles of interpretation of statutes is to adopt an

interpretation which promotes and advances the object

sought to be achieved by the legislation, in preference to an

interpretation which defeats such object. This Court has in

a long line of decisions recognized purposive interpretation

as a sound principle for the Courts to adopt while

interpreting statutory provisions. We may only refer to the

decisions of this Court in New India Sugar Mills Ltd. v.

Commissioner of Sales Tax, Bihar (AIR 1963 SC

1207), where this Court observed:

“It is a recognised rule of interpretation of statutes that expressions used therein should ordinarily be understood in a sense in which they best harmonise with the object of the statute, and which effectuate the object of the Legislature. If an expression is susceptible of a narrow or technical meaning, as well as a popular meaning, the Court would be justified in assuming that the Legislature used the expression in the sense which would carry out its object and reject that which renders the exercise of its power invalid.”

28. Reference may also be made to the decision of this

Court in Deputy Custodian, Evacuee Property v.

Page 30

Official Receiver (AIR 1965 SC 951), where this Court

observed:

“The rules of grammar may suggest that when the section says that the property is evacuee property, it prima facie indicates that the property should bear that character at the time when the opinion is formed. But Mr. Ganapathy Iyer for the appellants has strenuously contended that the construction of s. 7(1) should not be based solely or primarily on the mechanical application of the rules of grammar. He urges that the construction for which Mr. Pathak contents and which, in substance, has been accepted by the High Court, would lead to very anomalous results; and his arguments is that it is open to the Court to take into account the obvious aim and object of the statutory provision when attempting the task of construing its words. If it appears that the obvious aim and object of the statutory provisions would be frustrated by accepting the literal construction suggested by the respondent, then it may be open to the Court to enquire whether an alternative construction which would serve the purpose of achieving the aim and object of the Act, is reasonably possible.”

29. The decision of this Court in Nathi Devi v. Radha

Devi (2005) 2 SCC 271, reiterates the rule of purposive

construction in the following words:

“Even if there exists some ambiguity in the language or the same is capable of two interpretations, it is trite the interpretation which serves the object and purport of the Act must be given effect to. In such a case the doctrine of purposive construction should be adopted.”

Page 31

30. To the same effect is the decision of this Court in S.P.

Jain v. Krishan Mohan Gupta (1987) 1 SCC 191, where

this Court observed:

“We are of the opinion that law should take a pragmatic view of the matter and respond to the purpose for which it was made and also take cognizance of the current capabilities of technology and life-style of the community. It is well settled that the purpose of law provides a good guide to the interpretation of the meaning of the Act. We agree with the views of Justice Krishna Iyer in Busching Schmitz Private Ltd’s case (supra) that legislative futility is to be ruled out so long as interpretative possibility permits.”

31. Applying the above rule of interpretation and the

provisions of Section 138, we have no hesitation in holding

that a prosecution based on a second or successive default

in payment of the cheque amount should not be

impermissible simply because no prosecution based on the

first default which was followed by a statutory notice and a

failure to pay had not been launched. If the entire purpose

underlying Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act is

to compel the drawers to honour their commitments made

in the course of their business or other affairs, there is no

reason why a person who has issued a cheque which is

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dishonoured and who fails to make payment despite

statutory notice served upon him should be immune to

prosecution simply because the holder of the cheque has

not rushed to the court with a complaint based on such

default or simply because the drawer has made the holder

defer prosecution promising to make arrangements for

funds or for any other similar reason. There is in our

opinion no real or qualitative difference between a case

where default is committed and prosecution immediately

launched and another where the prosecution is deferred till

the cheque presented again gets dishonoured for the

second or successive time.

32. The controversy, in our opinion, can be seen from

another angle also. If the decision in Sadanandan

Bhadran’s case (supra) is correct, there is no option for

the holder to defer institution of judicial proceedings even

when he may like to do so for so simple and innocuous a

reason as to extend certain accommodation to the drawer

to arrange the payment of the amount. Apart from the fact

that an interpretation which curtails the right of the parties

Page 33

to negotiate a possible settlement without prejudice to the

right of holder to institute proceedings within the outer

period of limitation stipulated by law should be avoided we

see no reason why parties should, by a process of

interpretation, be forced to launch complaints where they

can or may like to defer such action for good and valid

reasons. After all, neither the courts nor the parties stand

to gain by institution of proceedings which may become

unnecessary if cheque amount is paid by the drawer. The

magistracy in this country is over-burdened by an

avalanche of cases under Section 138 of Negotiable

Instruments Act. If the first default itself must in terms of

the decision in Sadanandan Bhadran’s case (supra)

result in filing of prosecution, avoidable litigation would

become an inevitable bane of the legislation that was

intended only to bring solemnity to cheques without forcing

parties to resort to proceedings in the courts of law. While

there is no empirical data to suggest that the problems of

overburdened magistracy and judicial system at the district

level is entirely because of the compulsions arising out of

the decisions in Sadanandan Bhadran’s case (supra), it is

Page 34

difficult to say that the law declared in that decision has not

added to court congestion.

33. In the result, we overrule the decision in

Sadanandan Bhadran’s case (supra) and hold that

prosecution based upon second or successive dishonour of

the cheque is also permissible so long as the same satisfies

the requirements stipulated in the proviso to Section 138 of

the Negotiable Instruments Act. The reference is answered

accordingly. The appeals shall now be listed before the

regular Bench for hearing and disposal in light of the

observations made above.

………….………………….…..……….J. (R.M. LODHA)

………….……………………..…….…J. (T.S. THAKUR)

………….………………….…..……….J. (ANIL R. DAVE)

New Delhi September 26, 2012