The HC allowed the revision, set aside the conviction and...

The HC allowed the revision, set aside the conviction and sentence under Section 138 NI Act, and quashed the appellate court's affirmance. The courts below had presumed the cheque discharged a legal liability because issuance was undisputed, but that rebuttable presumption was displaced by evidence that the underlying debt was to a differently licensed entity; the cheque payable to the complainant's firm did not legally discharge the debt. Absent a legally enforceable debt, jurisdiction to try and convict under Section 138 was lacking. The revisional jurisdiction properly remedied the jurisdictional error and patent legal defect, warranting acquittal of the accused.

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