- (1.) Leave granted. (a) What is meant by, "the bank" as mentioned in Clause (a) of the proviso to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (b) Does such bank mean the bank of the drawer of the cheque or covers within its ambit any bank including the collecting bank of the Payee of the cheque (c) To which bank the cheque is to be presented for the purposes of attracting the penal provisions of Section 138 of the Act are the questions to be determined by this Court in this appeal.
(2.) Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case of Om Prakash v. Gurcharan Singh, (1997) 3 Crimes 433 and Gujarat High Court in Arunbhai Nilkantharai Nanavati v. Jayaben Prahladbhai through Her Power of Attorney, (1999) 3 Crimes 252 : (2000 Cri LJ 1152) have held that a cheque must be presented to the bank on which it is drawn within six months from the date of issue of the cheque. However, Madras High Court in A. B. K. Publications Ltd. v. Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd., (1999) 3 Crimes 97 : (1999 Cri LJ 2741) has taken the view that cheque can be presented either in the payee's bank or in the drawer bank and the date of presentation in respective banks will be reckoned for calculating period of six months from the date it was drawn.
(3.) In the present case the High Court of Madhya Pradesh has endorsed the view of Madras High Court and disagreed with the views of Punjab and Haryana and Gujarat High Courts.;