Complaints under Section 138 : Steps to be Followed

Justice S.N. Dhingra

Justice S.N. Dhingra of the Delhi High Court in a recent decision has prescribed steps to be followed by Metropolitan Magistrates, while dealing with complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

In Para 7 of the Judgment, the Learned Judge has held;

7. The summary trial procedure to be followed for offences u/s 138 N.I. Act would thus be as under:

Step I : On the day complaint is presented, if the complaint is accompanied by affidavit of complainant, the concerned MM shall scrutinize the complaint & documents and if commission of offence is made out, take cognizance & direct issuance of summons of accused, against whom case is made out.

Step II : If the accused appears, the MM shall ask him to furnish bail bond to ensure his appearance during trial and ask him to take notice u/s 251 Cr. P.C. and enter his plea of defence and fix the case for defence evidence, unless an application is made by an accused under section 145(2) of N.I. Act for recalling a witness for cross examination on plea of defence.

Step III : If there is an application u/s 145(2) of N.I. Act for recalling a witness of complainant, the court shall decide the same, otherwise, it shall proceed to take defence evidence on record and allow cross examination of defence witnesses by complainant.

Step IV : To hear arguments of both sides.

Step V : To pass order/judgment.
To view the entire text of the Judgment Click Here.