https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=784260 SC considered whether proceedings under s.138 NI Act should be transferred under s.446 BNSS to meet the ends of justice, focusing on territorial jurisdiction engineered by presenting cheques at a distant branch. Holding that s.138 is quasi-criminal and primarily affects private parties, the Court applied a convenience-and-hardship assessment, rejecting a complainant's stratagem to create jurisdiction where it disproportionately burdens the accused. Given the complainant's nationwide presence, the transaction and defence evidence being located near the accused, and related proceedings arising from the same transaction pending at a tribunal and HC, the Court ordered transfer to the CMM, Hyderabad as a neutral forum convenient to both parties, and directed placement before the Chief Justice for constituting a larger bench on the jurisdiction issue. en-us Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 01 Jan 2026 08:18:24 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=784260 SC considered whether proceedings under s.138 NI Act should be transferred under s.446 BNSS to meet the ends of justice, focusing on territorial jurisdiction engineered by presenting cheques at a distant branch. Holding that s.138 is quasi-criminal and primarily affects private parties, the Court applied a convenience-and-hardship assessment, rejecting a complainant's stratagem to create jurisdiction where it disproportionately burdens the accused. Given the complainant's nationwide presence, the transaction and defence evidence being located near the accused, and related proceedings arising from the same transaction pending at a tribunal and HC, the Court ordered transfer to the CMM, Hyderabad as a neutral forum convenient to both parties, and directed placement before the Chief Justice for constituting a larger bench on the jurisdiction issue. Case-Laws Indian Laws Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=784260