Power of attorney holder may file cheque bounce complaint for the payee or holder in due course under Section 142.

Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act requires a complaint in writing by the payee or holder in due course, but it does not require personal filing by that person. General agency principles permit action through an authorised agent unless the act is inherently personal or a statute insists on personal performance. The Power of Attorney Act gives legal effect to acts done by the donee in the donor's name and signature. On that basis, a power of attorney holder of the payee or holder in due course can validly present a complaint for an offence under Section 138.

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Issues: Whether a payee or holder in due course of a cheque can file a complaint under Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, through a power of attorney holder.

Analysis: Section 142 requires that cognizance of an offence under Section 138 be taken only on a complaint in writing made by the payee or holder in due course, but it does not require that the complaint be made personally by that person. The general law of agency permits a person to act through an agent unless the act is personal in character or a statute expressly requires personal performance. The Power of Attorney Act, 1882 gives legal effect to acts done by the donee of the power in the name and signature of the donor. Filing a complaint is not an act falling within any recognised exception, and reading Section 142 as excluding complaints through a power of attorney holder would create an impractical restriction not expressed by Parliament.

Conclusion: A power of attorney holder of a payee or holder in due course can validly make a complaint under Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

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