Blank cheque completed without consent cannot sustain Section 138 prosecution; rebuttable presumption under Section 139 was displaced.

A cheque issued without the amount and date, and later completed by the payee without the drawer's consent, was treated as a material alteration under Section 87 of the Negotiable Instruments Act and did not satisfy the statutory character of a cheque for Section 138 purposes. Although a presumption under Section 139 may arise from issuance of a blank cheque, that presumption is rebuttable and was displaced on the facts because the drawer had not authorised completion in the manner adopted. The ingredients of Section 138 were therefore not established, and the magistrate's appreciation of evidence showed no perversity. The acquittal was upheld.

---

---

Issues: Whether a blank cheque filled up by the payee without the drawer's consent and presented for encashment constitutes a cheque or bill of exchange for the purposes of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and whether the acquittal of the accused was liable to be interfered with in appeal.

Analysis: A cheque under Sections 5 and 6 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 must be an instrument containing an unconditional order for payment of a certain sum of money on demand. An instrument issued without mentioning the amount and date was treated as not being a cheque in the statutory sense at the time of issuance. Filling in the amount and date without consent was held to amount to material alteration within Section 87. Though a presumption under Section 139 may arise when a blank cheque is issued, that presumption is rebuttable. On the facts, the drawer had not authorised the completion of the cheque in the manner adopted, and the ingredients of Section 138 were therefore not established. No perversity was found in the magistrate's appreciation of evidence.

Conclusion: The acquittal was upheld. The blank cheque, as completed without consent, did not sustain prosecution under Section 138, and the appeal failed.

Final Conclusion: Criminal liability under Section 138 could not be fastened on the basis of the instrument as completed, and the order of acquittal remained undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: A cheque issued without the amount and date being specified, and completed later without the drawer's consent, may amount to material alteration and cannot, by itself, sustain conviction under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 despite the rebuttable presumption under Section 139.

---