Post-merger cheque validity bars dishonour prosecution when presentation occurs after the prescribed bank-merger replacement deadline.

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....Post-merger validity of cheques is a mandatory precondition to prosecution for cheque dishonour under Section 138. Merger terms made cheques drawn on Syndicate Bank invalid after 30 June 2021. A cheque presented nearly four years after that deadline was therefore not a valid instrument, even if dishonoured. Because presentation within the instrument's validity period is essential to Section 138 liability, proceedings founded on the invalid cheque were quashed. The complainant retained liberty to pursue other remedies available in law.....