https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=158391 S. 138 NI Act is attracted only upon dishonour of a cheque for insufficiency of funds or exceeding arrangement, and does not, by itself, create a statutory presumption of dishonest intention merely because the drawer lacked sufficient funds on the date of issuance; the deeming fiction of "offence" on dishonour is distinct from the rebuttable presumption under S. 139 regarding legally enforceable debt/liability. Since the Magistrate must only be satisfied of a prima facie case at cognizance and the drawer's rebuttal under S. 139 is a matter for trial, the HC erred in dismissing the complaints at the threshold; the SC set aside that approach and allowed the appeal. en-us Mon, 02 Mar 1998 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 31 Dec 2025 02:01:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=158391 S. 138 NI Act is attracted only upon dishonour of a cheque for insufficiency of funds or exceeding arrangement, and does not, by itself, create a statutory presumption of dishonest intention merely because the drawer lacked sufficient funds on the date of issuance; the deeming fiction of "offence" on dishonour is distinct from the rebuttable presumption under S. 139 regarding legally enforceable debt/liability. Since the Magistrate must only be satisfied of a prima facie case at cognizance and the drawer's rebuttal under S. 139 is a matter for trial, the HC erred in dismissing the complaints at the threshold; the SC set aside that approach and allowed the appeal. Case-Laws Companies Law Mon, 02 Mar 1998 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=158391