https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=195347 Under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, cognizance cannot be taken on a complaint filed before expiry of the 15-day period after service of notice, because the offence is complete only when that statutory period lapses without payment. Such a premature filing does not disclose an accrued cause of action and is not a complaint in law for cognizance under Section 142. The same complaint cannot later be re-presented after limitation has run; the proper course is to file a fresh complaint, which may be entertained only if delay is condoned under the proviso to Section 142(b) on sufficient cause being shown. en-us Fri, 19 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 09:02:35 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=195347 Under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, cognizance cannot be taken on a complaint filed before expiry of the 15-day period after service of notice, because the offence is complete only when that statutory period lapses without payment. Such a premature filing does not disclose an accrued cause of action and is not a complaint in law for cognizance under Section 142. The same complaint cannot later be re-presented after limitation has run; the proper course is to file a fresh complaint, which may be entertained only if delay is condoned under the proviso to Section 142(b) on sufficient cause being shown. Case-Laws Indian Laws Fri, 19 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=195347