Post-dated cheque limitation under Section 138 runs from delivery to the payee, not the future date on the cheque.

For Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, a post-dated cheque is treated as drawn on the date it is delivered to the payee, not on the future date it bears, for computing the six-month presentation period. The presumption under Section 118(b) as to the date of an instrument operates only until the contrary is shown, and it does not apply where the cheque is shown to be post-dated or antedated. On that basis, presentation beyond six months from delivery was time-barred, and the complaint was liable to be quashed.

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Issues: Whether a post-dated cheque, for the purpose of the six-month requirement under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, is to be treated as drawn on the date it bears or on the date it is delivered to the payee, and whether the complaint was barred for having been presented beyond six months.

Analysis: The six-month condition in the proviso to Section 138 requires presentation within six months from the date on which the cheque is drawn. The presumption under Section 118(b) as to the date of an instrument operates only until the contrary is proved. Where material shows that the cheque was post-dated or antedated, the presumption does not apply. A post-dated cheque accepted with knowledge of its date cannot be treated as drawn on the future date merely because that is the date it bears; for limitation purposes, it is to be treated as drawn on the date of delivery to the payee.

Conclusion: The complaint was beyond the period prescribed by Section 138 and was liable to be quashed. The petition was allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: For the purpose of Section 138, a post-dated cheque is treated as drawn on the date of its delivery to the payee, and the presumption as to date under Section 118(b) does not apply where the contrary is shown.

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