Summary suit under CPC after acquittal of accused in S. 138 NI Act cheque bounce

Tilak Marg Forum for Legal Questions Forums Civil Law Summary suit under CPC after acquittal of accused in S. 138 NI Act cheque bounce

Viewing 1 reply thread
  • Author
    Posts
    • #5160
      Anonymous
      Guest

      What is the legal consequence if case u/s 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act is decided on merits and accused is acquitted and after that summary suit under order-XXXVII Civil Procedure Code is filed?

    • #5178

      Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act defines the offence of cheque dishonour. There are many necessary ingredients of this offence (read my article for more details on this), which must be satisfied for conviction for this offence. If any of the necessary ingredients is not satisfied, then the accused cannot be convicted and it may lead to his acquittal.

      Therefore, mere acquittal of the accused in a Section 138 N.I. Act does not mean that the civil liability of the drawer of the cheque has been satisfied or that such liability did not exist in the first place. In view of this, generally speaking, it may be possible to successfully pursue a summary suit (under the Civil Procedure Code) for recovery of the amount due from the drawer of the cheque even after a cheque bounce case under Section 138 has ended in acquittal.

      However, in one particular situation, if the acquittal of the accused in Section 138 case was on the ground that there was no debt or liability of the drawer of the cheque, then it may create difficulty in the summary suit for recovery of money because such a finding may strike at the root of the summary suit. Naturally, if is proved on the basis of evidence that there was no debt or liability, then recovery of money in summary suit may not succeed.

      But, if the acquittal in Section 138 case is on other grounds, or on the benefit of doubt (even on the question of debt or liability), then it may still be possible to pursue the summary suit for recovery of money, though the result would depend on the facts of each individual case.

           


      Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

Viewing 1 reply thread
  • The Question ‘Summary suit under CPC after acquittal of accused in S. 138 NI Act cheque bounce’ is closed to new replies.

You may also like to read these topics:

Dishonor of cheque for which the liability is cleared by other payment mode
Cheque bounce case under 138 NI act - Interim Relief of 20%
The drawer has given stop payment and also is denying the signature on the check
What are the stages of trial of a case U/s 138 of NI Act?