NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS ACT, 1881

Preamble: An Act to define and amend the law relating to Promissory Notes, Bills of Exchange and Cheques. Contains 147 Sections divided into XVII chapters. Chapter XVII containing sections 138 to 142 added in 1988 (effective from 1.4.1989) Sections 143 to 147 added in 2002 (effective from 6.3.2003) amendment.

What is Negotiable Instrument?

Sec13. (1) A negotiable instrument means a promissory note, bill of exchange or cheque payable either to order or to bearer.

What is promissory note ?

Promissory note. Sec. 4. A promissory note is an instrument in writing (not being a banknote or a currency-note) containing an unconditional undertaking, signed by the maker, to pay a certain sum of money only to, or to the order of, a certain person, or to the bearer of the instrument.

Features of promissory note

Instrument in writing Not a bank note or currency note Contains unconditional undertaking Signed by the maker of the instrument To pay a certain sum of money only To or to the order of certain person Or to the bearer of the instrument.

Illustrations of promissory notes

Illustrations A signs instruments in the following terms: (a) I promise to pay B or order Rs. 500. (b) I acknowledge myself to be indebted to B in Rs. 1,000, to be paid on demand, for value received. (c) Mr. B, I.O.U. Rs. 1,000. (d) I promise to pay B Rs. 500 and all other sums which shall be due to him. (e) I promise to pay B Rs. 500 first deducting thereout any money which he may owe me. (f) I promise to pay B Rs. 500 seven days after my marriage with C. (g) I promise to pay B Rs. 500 on Ds death, provided D leaves me enough to pay that sum. (h) I promise to pay B Rs. 500 and to deliver to him my black horse on 1st January next. The instruments respectively marked (a) and (b) are promissory notes. The instruments respectively marked (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h) are not promissory notes.

Bill of exchange
Sec. 5. A bill of exchange is an instrument in writing containing an unconditional order, signed by the maker, directing a certain person to pay a certain sum of money only to, or to the order of, a certain person or to the bearer of the instrument.

Cheque
Sec. 6. A cheque is a bill of exchange drawn on a specified banker and not expressed to be payable otherwise than on demand and it includes the electronic image of a truncated cheque and a cheque in the electronic form.

 Explanation I.For the purposes of this section, the expressions (a) a cheque in the electronic form means a cheque which contains the exact mirror image of a paper cheque, and is generated, written and signed in a secure system ensuring the minimum safety standards with the use of digital signature (with or without biometrics signature) and asymmetric crypto system; (b) a truncated cheque means a cheque which is truncated during the course of a clearing cycle, either by the clearing house or by the bank whether paying or receiving payment, immediately on generation of an electronic image for transmission, substituting the further physical movement of the cheque in writing.

Explanation II.For the purposes of this section, the expression clearing house means the clearing house managed by the Reserve Bank of India or a clearing house recognised as such by the Reserve Bank of India.

Important terms
Sec. 7. Drawer, Drawee. The maker of a bill of exchange or cheque is called the drawer; the person thereby directed to pay is called the drawee.

 Sec. 7. Acceptor After the drawee of a bill has signed his assent upon the bill, or, if there are more parts thereof than one, upon one of such parts, and delivered the same, or given notice of such signing to the holder or to some person on his behalf, he is called the acceptor.

 Sec. 7. Payee. The person named in the instrument, to whom or to whose order the money is by the instrument directed to be paid, is called the payee.

Holder
Sec. 8. Holder. The holder of a promissory note, bill of exchange or cheque means any person entitled in his own name to the possession thereof and to receive or recover the amount due thereon from the parties thereto. Where the note, bill or cheque is lost or destroyed, its holder is the person so entitled at the time of such loss or destruction.

Holder in due course

Sec. 9. Holder in due course means any person who for consideration became the possessor of a promissory note, bill of exchange or cheque if payable to bearer, or the payee or indorsee thereof, if payable to order, before the amount mentioned in it became payable, and without having sufficient cause to believe that any defect existed in the title of the person from whom he derived his title.

Payment in due course

Sec. 10. Payment in due course means payment in accordance with the apparent tenor of the instrument in good faith and without negligence to any person in possession thereof under circumstances which do not afford a reasonable ground for believing that he is not entitled to receive payment of the amount therein mentioned.

Negotiation.
Sec. 14. When a promissory note, bill of exchange or cheque is transferred to any person, so as to constitute that person the holder thereof, the instrument is said to be negotiated.

Indorsement
Sec. 15. When the maker or holder of a negotiable instrument signs the same, otherwise than as such maker, for the purpose of negotiation, on the back or face thereof or on a slip of paper annexed thereto, or so signs for the same purpose a stamped paper intended to be completed as a negotiable instrument, he is said to indorse the same, and is called the indorser.

 Payment in due course of crossed cheque. Sec. 128. Where the banker on whom a crossed cheque is drawn has paid the same in due course, the banker paying the cheque, and (in case such cheque has come to the hands of the payee) the drawer thereof, shall respectively be entitled to the same rights, and be placed in the same position in all respects, as they would respectively be entitled to and placed in if the amount of the cheque had been paid to and received by the true owner thereof.

 Payment of crossed cheque out of due course. Sec. 129. Any banker paying a cheque crossed generally otherwise than to a banker, or a cheque crossed specially otherwise than to the banker to whom the same is crossed, or his agent for collection, being a banker, shall be liable to the true owner of the cheque for any loss he may sustain owing to the cheque having been so paid.

Dishonour of cheque for insufficiency, etc., of funds in the account.

Sec. 138. Where any cheque drawn by a person on an account maintained by him with a banker for payment of any amount of money to another person from out of that account for the discharge, in whole or in part, of any debt or other liability, is returned by the bank unpaid, either because of the amount of money standing to the credit of that account is insufficient to honour the cheque or that it exceeds the amount arranged to be paid from that account by an agreement made with that bank, such person shall be deemed to have committed an offence and shall, without prejudice to any other provisions of this Act, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to twice the amount of the cheque, or with both:

 Provided that nothing contained in this section shall apply unless (a) the cheque has been presented to the bank within a period of six months from the date on which it is drawn or within the period of its validity, whichever is earlier; (b) the payee or the holder in due course of the cheque, as the case may be, makes a demand for the payment of the said amount of money by giving a notice, in writing, to the drawer of the cheque, within thirty days of the receipt of information by him from the bank regarding the return of the cheque as unpaid; and (c) the drawer of such cheque fails to make the payment of the said amount of money to the payee or, as the case may be, to the holder in due course of the cheque, within fifteen days of the receipt of the said notice. Explanation: For the purposes of this section, debt or other liability means a legally enforceable debt or other liability.

Important points in dishonour of cheques

1) Cheque should presented for payment within 6 months from its date or within its validity period. 2) within thirty days of the receipt of information by him from the bank regarding the return of the cheque as unpaid, a demand notice should be given in writing by the payee or holder in due course to the drawer of the cheque. 3) Within 15 days of receipt of above notice, if the drawer fails to make payment, then the holder or holder in due course has right to file a criminal complaint for the offence within 30 days from the date of cause of action (refer to Section 142).

Punishment for the offence of dishonour of cheque

i. Imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, ii. or with fine which may extend to twice the amount of the cheque iii. or with both

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