SC turns the screws on cheque defaulters

NEW DELHI: Taking the cheque bouncing cases seriously, the Supreme Court has ruled that the drawer cannot hide under the plea that he did not receive the complainant’s notice. The way to escape the punishment is the payment of due amount within 15 days of court summons, said the apex court.

A three-judge bench headed by chief justice KG Balakrishnan decided the controversial issue of service of notice in terms of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. It was referred to a larger bench to decide whether notice is mandatory to prevent unnecessary harassment of the genuine drawer.

“If giving of notice in the context of Clause (b) of the proviso was the same as the ‘receipt of notice’, a trickster cheque drawer would get the premium to avoid receiving the notice by adopting different strategies and escape from legal consequences of Section 138 of the Act,” said the court.

The court said that it is to be borne in mind that the requirement of giving notice is a clear departure from the rule of criminal law, where there is no stipulation of giving a notice before filing a complaint.