https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=305737 Filing a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act before expiry of the statutory waiting period is premature, but not necessarily void. The filing of the complaint and the Magistrate's taking of cognizance are distinct steps; cognizance is taken only when the Magistrate applies mind to proceed under Section 200 CrPC and decide on process. If the complaint is kept pending and becomes maintainable after the waiting period expires, cognizance may validly be taken later. On that reasoning, the earlier filing did not invalidate the prosecution, and setting aside the conviction solely for prematurity was incorrect. en-us Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 22 Dec 2022 16:04:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=305737 Filing a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act before expiry of the statutory waiting period is premature, but not necessarily void. The filing of the complaint and the Magistrate's taking of cognizance are distinct steps; cognizance is taken only when the Magistrate applies mind to proceed under Section 200 CrPC and decide on process. If the complaint is kept pending and becomes maintainable after the waiting period expires, cognizance may validly be taken later. On that reasoning, the earlier filing did not invalidate the prosecution, and setting aside the conviction solely for prematurity was incorrect. Case-Laws Indian Laws Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=305737