Demand notice not invalid if amount demanded same as cheque amount

In CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). 607-608 /2019, VIJAY GOPALA LOHAR vs PANDURANG RAMCHANDRA GHORPADE, the Respondent issued two notices against bounced cheques and as no payment was made even after the receipt of the notices, he filed two complaints under Section 138 of the NI Act. In the noticed, though the amount mentioned was same as the cheques under consideration, there was a reference to the loan amount which had to be returned by the appellant according to the notices. The Trial Court held  that the notices were defective on the ground that the notices mentioned loan amount and not the cheque amount and were therefore contrary to Section 138 of the NI Act.

As the High Court on appeal differed with the trial court and convicted the appellant, the said appellant came before the Supreme Court. It was argued on behalf of the appellant that clause(b) of the proviso to Section 138 of the NI Act to submit that the demand by the notice should be only for the cheque amount and not for any other amount more than the cheque amount, while a perusal of the notice would show that the notice refers to the loan amount and not the cheque amount and for this the appellant relied upon judgments in K.R. Indira vs. Dr. G. Adinarayana and Rahul Builders vs. Arihant Fertilizers & Chemicals.

The Supreme dismissing the judgments held that in the judgments referred to above the notice issued under Section 138 of the NI Act referred to loan amounts which were much higher than the cheque amounts. Whereas, in the instant case, the loan amount and the cheque amount is the same i.e., Rs.50,000/-. Therefore, the above mentioned judgments cited by the learned counsel for the appellant are not applicable to this case.