Law on Burden of Proof in Case of Cheque Dishonour under S.138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881

Law on Burden of Proof in Case of Cheque Dishonour under S.138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881

Section 138 - Burden of Proof in Cases of Cheque Dishonour - "The burden of proving that there is no existing debt or liability, is to be discharged in the trial. The legal presumption of the cheque having been issued in the discharge of liability must also receive due weightage. In a situation where the accused moves Court for quashing even before trial has commenced, the Court’s approach should be careful enough to not to prematurely extinguish the case by disregarding the legal presumption which supports the complaint. At any rate, whenever facts are disputed the truth should be allowed to emerge by weighing the evidence. The proposition of law as set out above makes it abundantly clear that the Court should be slow to grant the relief of quashing a complaint at a pre-trial stage, when the factual controversy is in the realm of possibility particularly because of the legal presumption". - Rathish Babu Unnikrishnan v. State GNCTD [2022] GCtR 2004 (SC)