Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 

Section 138 - Dishonour of cheque for insufficiency of funds - Cognizance of offence - Territorial jurisdiction of Court - Determination of - Held, it is difficult to fix up any particular locality as the place of occurrence of the offence - Offence under Section 138 not completed only with the dishonour of the cheque but with the concatenation of a number of acts - Thus, cognizance can be taken by any one of those courts exercising jurisdiction within whose limits any one of the acts was done.

Section 138, proviso clauses (b) and (c) - Dishonour of cheque - Notice to drawer - Returned as 'unclaimed' - Effect of - Held, it can be deemed to have been served unless otherwise proved - The reckoning of the period of 15 days for the drawer to pay the amount would start from the date the notice was returned by the sendee as unclaimed - General Clauses Act, 1897 - Section 27.

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.

Sections 177, 178 and 179 - Territorial jurisdiction of Courts - Scope and extent of.

Section 386 second proviso - Power of Appellate Court to impose punishment - Extent of - Held, cannot impose greater punishment than might have been inflicted by the Court passing the order under appeal - Award of sentence and fine by High Court set aside.

Sections 29(2) and 357 - Power of Magistrate to award fine and compensation - Scope and extent of - Dishonour of cheque - Power to award fine not exceeding five thousand rupees - Cheque amount exceeding the amount of fine - Held, Magistrate can award any reasonable sum as compensation - Thus, matter remitted to Trial Court for awarding compensation.

Interpretation of statutes - Liberal interpretation - Applicability of - Dishonour of cheque - Statutory obligation to give notice to drawer of cheque - Held, invites liberal interpretation as the person who has the obligation to give notice is presumed to be the loser in the transaction and only to protect his interest the provision was enacted - Court should not adopt an interpretation which helps a dishonest evader and clips an honest payee as that would defeat the very legislative measure.

Words and Phrases: "giving a notice"; "receipt of a notice" - Meaning in the context of Section 138(1) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.