https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=295239 A cheque dishonoured under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act attracts criminal liability only if it was issued towards a legally enforceable debt or liability. The statutory presumptions under Sections 118 and 139 do not cure an underlying loan that is not legally recoverable. Where the complainant claimed to be a money-lender but failed to produce a valid licence for the relevant period, the loan could not be enforced under the Bombay Money Lenders Act, and an adverse inference could be drawn from the non-production of the licence. The transaction was also treated as void for illegality under Section 23 of the Contract Act, so acquittal was upheld. en-us Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 29 Sep 2023 15:05:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=295239 A cheque dishonoured under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act attracts criminal liability only if it was issued towards a legally enforceable debt or liability. The statutory presumptions under Sections 118 and 139 do not cure an underlying loan that is not legally recoverable. Where the complainant claimed to be a money-lender but failed to produce a valid licence for the relevant period, the loan could not be enforced under the Bombay Money Lenders Act, and an adverse inference could be drawn from the non-production of the licence. The transaction was also treated as void for illegality under Section 23 of the Contract Act, so acquittal was upheld. Case-Laws Indian Laws Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=295239