Premature Section 138 complaint does not bar a fresh complaint once cause of action matures; disputed defences cannot be quashed at threshold.

A premature complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act does not bar a fresh complaint once the statutory cause of action has matured, and the earlier dismissal is of no consequence to maintainability. Allegations that the cheque was issued under duress or that the debt was already discharged raise disputed questions of fact and cannot ordinarily be decided in a quashing petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. On these grounds, quashing was held not maintainable and the criminal proceeding was permitted to continue.

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Issues: Whether a criminal proceeding under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 could be quashed on the grounds that an earlier complaint was premature and dismissed, and that the cheque was allegedly issued under duress or the amount had already been paid.

Analysis: A defence that the cheque was issued under duress or that liability had already been discharged raises disputed questions of fact and is not a ground for quashing at the threshold. In prosecutions under Chapter XVII of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, a complaint filed before the cause of action had matured does not bar a subsequent complaint once the statutory requirements are satisfied. The rule barring successive FIRs is not applicable to such complaint proceedings, and the premature complaint was of no consequence for the maintainability of the later complaint when cognizance was taken.

Conclusion: The petition for quashing was not maintainable on these grounds, and the criminal proceeding was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The proceeding under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 was allowed to continue, and the challenge to cognizance failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A premature complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 does not bar a fresh complaint once the statutory cause of action has matured, and disputed defences of duress or prior payment cannot ordinarily be examined in a quashing petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

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