Negotiable Instruments Act presumption rebuttal requires a credible foundational debt claim before conviction can follow.

For prosecution under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the complainant must first establish a credible foundational case of a legally enforceable debt or liability. Here, the complaint and demand notice did not disclose the date or year of the alleged hand-loan transaction, while surrounding evidence supported the defence version that the cheques may have related to an earlier property transaction and were filled up by the complainant. The accused's admission of signature and receipt of notice did not, on these facts, make the statutory presumption under section 139 conclusive. The Sessions Court's appreciation of evidence was found free from infirmity, and the acquittal was sustained.

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Issues: Whether the acquittal recorded by the Sessions Court in the prosecution under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act called for interference in appeal.

Analysis: The complainant did not disclose the date or even the year of the alleged hand-loan transaction in the complaint or demand notice. The accused admitted his signature on the cheques and receipt of notice, but the surrounding circumstances, including the admitted sale transaction between the accused and the complainant's family, the documents showing consideration for the property transaction, and the evidence that the cheques were filled up by the complainant, rendered the defence version probable. The record also supported the defence that the cheques could have been issued in connection with the earlier property transaction and that the account stood closed after the accused's transfer from the branch. In these circumstances, the statutory presumption could not be treated as having been established on a believable foundational case, and the Sessions Court's appreciation of evidence did not suffer from infirmity.

Conclusion: The acquittal was rightly sustained and no interference was warranted.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed and the accused's acquittal stood confirmed.

Ratio Decidendi: For sustaining a conviction under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the complainant must lay a credible foundational case showing a legally enforceable debt or liability; where the defence version is probable on the evidence, the presumption under section 139 does not compel conviction.

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