Supreme Court Yearly Digest 2024: Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
Live LawDirector of the company not responsible for its day-to-day affairs cannot be held liable for dishonour of cheque. Prem Raj v. Poonamma Menon, 2024 LiveLaw 272 : 6 SCC 143 Section 138 – Dishonouring of cheque – Held, existence of any “enforceable debt or other liability” not found. Raj Reddy Kallem v. State of Haryana, 2024 LiveLaw 336 Section 147 & 138 – Compoundable offence – All offences punishable under the Negotiable Instruments Act are compoundable – In cases of section 138 the accused must try for compounding at the initial stages instead of the later stage, however, there is no bar to seek the compounding of the offence at later stages of criminal proceedings including after conviction. Sri Sujies Benefit Funds Ltd. v. M. Jaganathuan, 2024 LiveLaw 581 Sections 138, 139, 118; Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 391; Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act, 2003 — Discrepancies in interest rates and the partial repayments did not sufficiently rebut the statutory presumption of liability—Respondent failed to demonstrate that the cheque was not for a legally enforceable debt—Even if the interest charged exceeded the rate allowed under the Tamil Nadu Act, this was not a ground to invalidate the entire debt. Bijay Agarwal v. M/s Medilines, 2024 LiveLaw 948 Sections 138 and 141 – Director of a company cannot be held liable under Section 138 for dishonour of a cheque drawn on the company's account unless the company is arraigned as the principal accused, even if the cheque is issued by the director in discharge of personal debt.