Section 138 cheque prosecution can proceed where consideration and presentation issues remain disputed and presumptions support trial.

A complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act was examined for quashing under Section 482 CrPC on the grounds of alleged absence of consideration, delayed presentation, and use of an undated cheque. The cheque had been handed over in connection with a contract, so lack of consideration was not established at the quashing stage. Disputed questions about the underlying liability and validity of presentation were held to require trial. An undated cheque could be completed by the holder, and the six-month period was to run from the date written on the instrument. The statutory presumptions under Sections 139 and 141 supported continuation of the prosecution.

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Issues: Whether the complaint and summoning order under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 were liable to be quashed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 on the grounds that the cheque was issued without consideration, was presented beyond time, or that the date filled in on an undated cheque rendered the prosecution unsustainable.

Analysis: The cheque was admittedly handed over in connection with a contract and was therefore not shown, at the stage of quashing, to be without consideration. Whether the underlying obligation was ultimately satisfied and whether the cheque could validly be presented were disputed factual matters for trial. An undated cheque, once delivered, could be completed by the holder, and the instrument became a cheque on the date written on it for the purposes of Section 138. The period of six months had therefore to be counted from that date. The statutory presumptions under Sections 139 and 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 also supported continuation of the prosecution, and the complaint disclosed a prima facie case.

Conclusion: Quashing was not warranted and the complaint could proceed to trial.

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