Section 138 NI Act may cover cheques for another person's enforceable liability; quashing refused on disputed defences.

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Full Text of the Document

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....Section 138 of the NI Act is not confined to cheques issued for the drawer's own personal liability; a cheque drawn towards a legally enforceable liability of another person may also attract penal consequences on dishonour. The Court therefore rejected the objection based on absence of privity and the claim that the petitioner was not a party to the underlying consent award, holding that the complaint could proceed on a prima facie basis. Challenges that no amount was due, that the cheque was a gift, or that it formed part of a without-prejudice settlement raised disputed factual defences that could not be resolved at the process stage and had to be tested at trial.....