Uncertain cheque amount cannot trigger section 138 where the instrument fails the statutory test of certainty.

An instrument with an incoherent or uncertain amount in words and figures does not satisfy the statutory requirement of certainty for a cheque under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. A cheque must be a bill of exchange drawn on a specified banker for a certain sum, and section 18 only gives precedence to words over figures where the amount stated in words still conveys a definite sum. If the words themselves are absurd or unintelligible, the defect is not cured and section 138 cannot apply because the instrument is invalid at the threshold. Proceedings against the revisionists were therefore unsustainable and discharge was warranted.

---

---

Issues: Whether an instrument containing an incoherent and uncertain amount in words and figures could be treated as a valid cheque for the purposes of section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and whether the revisionists were liable to face notice for the offence.

Analysis: A cheque must first satisfy the characteristics of a bill of exchange under section 5 and, under section 6 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, must be an instrument drawn on a specified banker for a certain sum of money. Certainty of the amount is an essential requirement. Section 18 of the Act provides that where the amount differs in figures and words, the amount stated in words governs. However, where the amount written in words is itself absurd and incapable of yielding a certain sum, the instrument fails the statutory test of certainty and cannot be treated as a valid cheque. Section 138 applies only where a valid cheque, as defined by section 6, is dishonoured. The broader principle in relation to dishonour of cheques does not extend to an instrument which is invalid at the threshold.

Conclusion: The instrument in question was not a valid cheque within the meaning of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and proceedings under section 138 could not be sustained against the revisionists. The discharge was warranted.

Ratio Decidendi: An instrument is not a cheque for the purpose of section 138 unless it satisfies the statutory requirements of a bill of exchange and contains certainty as to the sum payable, and where the amount stated in words is itself uncertain or unintelligible, section 18 cannot cure the defect.

---