TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2022 (1) TMI 356
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....r Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act as well as proceeding in Case No.1567 of 2006 (Firm Khalique and Brothers Vs. Firm Aqsa Testiles), pending in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mau, District Mau. 3. The opposite party no.2 has made averment that the applicant issued four cheques in his favour (Cheque No.16049 dated 10.06.2005 for Rs. 30,000/-, Cheque No.16050 dated 20.06.2005 for Rs. 30,000/-, Cheque No.16051 dated 25.08.2005 for Rs. 30,000/- and Cheque No.16052 dated 01.07.2005 for Rs. 25,000/-). All the cheques were submitted in I.D.B.I. Bank at Varanasi and the all the cheques were dishonoured due to the fact that the account of payee was closed. The legal notice was sent by opposite party no.2 to the applicant on....
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....ency, etc., of funds in the account. -Where any cheque drawn by a person on an account maintained by him with a banker for payment of any amount of money to another person from out of that account for the discharge, in whole or in part, of any debt or other liability, is returned by the bank unpaid, either because of the amount of money standing to the credit of that account is insufficient to honour the cheque or that it exceeds the amount arranged to be paid from that account by an agreement made with that bank, such person shall be deemed to have committed an offence and shall, without prejudice to any other provisions of this Act, be punished with imprisonment for [a term which may be extended to two years], or with fine which may exten....
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....t that he had sufficient cause for not making a complaint within such period.] (c) no court inferior to that of a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence punishable under section 138.] (2) The offence under Section 138 shall be inquired into and tried only by a court within whose local jurisdiction,- (a) if the cheque is delivered for collection through an account, the branch of the bank where the payee or holder in due course, as the case may be, maintains the account, is situated; or (b) if the cheque is presented for payment by the payee or holder in due course, otherwise through an account, the branch of the drawee bank where the drawer maintains the a....
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....te forerunner of rising of the cause of action. In other words, cause of action would arise soon after completion of the offence and period of limitation for filing of the application starts running simultaneously." 11. Similarly, the case of Sil Import, USA Vs. Exim Aides Silk Exporters, Bangalore is also important to mention. The Court has pronounced the judgment, wherein, it is provided that after legal notice of one month, fifteen days' period for committing the offence will start and thereafter after expiry of fifteen days, the offence is completed and within one month, if, no complaint is filed the Magistrate is barred to take cognizance of the complaint, which is filed beyond limitation period. Para 24 of the said judgment is repr....
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....notice in writing to the drawer within the stipulated period; and (d) that the drawer failed to make the payment within 15 days of the receipt of the notice. If we were to proceed on the basis of the generic meaning of the term 'cause of action' certainly each of the above facts would constitute a part of the cause of action but then it is significant to note that clause (b) of Section 142 gives it a restrictive meaning, in that, it refers to only one fact which will give rise to the cause of action and that is the failure to make the payment within 15 days from the date of the receipt of the notice. The reason behind giving such a restrictive meaning is not far to seek. Consequent upon the failure of the drawer to....
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....r impediment to the acceptance of the concept of successive causes of action is that it will make the period of limitation under clause of Section 142 otiose, for, a payee who failed to file his complaint within one month and thereby forfeited his right to prosecute the drawer, can circumvent the above limitative clause by filing a complaint on the basis of a fresh presentation of the cheque and its dishonour. Since in the interpretation of statutes the Court always presumes that the legislature inserted every part thereof for a purpose and the legislative intention is that the very part should have effect the above conclusion cannot be drawn for, that will make the provision for limiting the period of making the complaint nugatory." 13.....