Statutory presumption in cheque dishonour cases bars quashing where enforceability of debt is disputed and must go to trial.

In a prosecution under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, once cheque issuance, dishonour and statutory notice are shown, presumptions under Sections 118 and 139 operate in favour of legally enforceable liability. The accused's challenge that the cheque was not issued for a recoverable debt, and that the underlying claim for advocate's fee and litigation expenses was unenforceable, raised disputed factual and legal questions requiring trial. Those issues could not be conclusively determined in a petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The complaint was therefore not liable to be quashed at the threshold, and the defence was left to be raised before the trial court.

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Issues: Whether a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act could be quashed on the basis of the accused's defence that the cheque was not issued towards a legally enforceable debt and that the underlying claim for advocate's fee and litigation expenses was unenforceable.

Analysis: The complaint disclosed issuance of the cheque from the accused's account, dishonour, and service of statutory notice. In proceedings under Sections 138, 118 and 139 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the cheque gives rise to a statutory presumption that it was issued for consideration and in discharge of a legally enforceable liability, and the burden shifts to the accused to rebut that presumption. The defence raised by the accused, including reliance on fee rules, prior payments, and the alleged illegality of the professional claim, involved disputed factual questions that could not be conclusively adjudicated in a petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Questions whether any amount remained payable, whether the alleged agreement offended public policy, and whether the cheque was issued for discharge of liability were matters for trial, not for quashing.

Conclusion: The complaint could not be quashed at the threshold, and the accused was relegated to raise the defence before the trial court.

Ratio Decidendi: In a prosecution under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, once execution and dishonour of the cheque are shown, statutory presumptions operate and disputed defences affecting enforceability of the debt must ordinarily be tried, not decided in inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

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