Post-dated cheques are drawn on the signing date for section 138 limitation, making late presentation outside the penal provision.

For proviso (a) to section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, a post-dated cheque is treated as drawn when the drawer signs it in completed form, not on the later date printed on the cheque. Section 118(b) creates only a rebuttable presumption about the date of the instrument, and the penal provision must be strictly construed. On that basis, presentation beyond six months from the actual date of drawing does not satisfy the statutory condition for an offence under section 138, and such complaints are liable to be quashed.

---

---

Issues: Whether post-dated cheques signed and delivered on an earlier date are to be treated as drawn on the date they are actually signed for the purpose of proviso (a) to section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and whether complaints based on presentation beyond six months from that date disclose an offence under section 138.

Analysis: The complaint allegations showed that the cheques were written, signed in completed form, and handed over on one date, though they bore later dates. The Act contains no specific provision fixing the time of drawing, but section 118(b) raises only a rebuttable presumption that a negotiable instrument bearing a date was made or drawn on that date. A post-dated cheque remains valid, yet for section 138 the language of proviso (a) requires presentation within six months from the date on which it is drawn, and penal provisions must receive strict construction. On that footing, a cheque is drawn when the drawer signs it complete in form, not when it bears a later date. Since the cheques were presented beyond six months from the actual date of drawing, the statutory condition was not met.

Conclusion: The complaints did not disclose an offence under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and the proceedings were liable to be quashed in favour of the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: For the purpose of proviso (a) to section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, a cheque is drawn on the date it is signed in completed form, and a post-dated cheque presented beyond six months from that actual date falls outside the penal provision.

---