Office-Bearers Can Face NI Act Prosecution If Complaint Shows Their Role In Transaction: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that criminal liability for cheque dishonour cannot be fastened on a person merely because they hold an office in a society, while making it clear that proceedings cannot be quashed at the threshold where the complaint discloses sufficient factual material linking them to the underlying transaction. A Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice N.V. Anjaria partly allowed an appeal filed by Mansi Finance (Chennai) Ltd against a Madras High Court order...

Delhi High Court Directs SpiceJet To Disclose Assets In Sunbird France Plea To Enforce ₹84 Crore Foreign Decree

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed SpiceJet Ltd to file an affidavit disclosing its assets within three weeks in proceedings initiated by France-based aircraft lessor Sunbird France 02 SAS. Sunbird is seeking enforcement of a foreign decree of around ₹84 crore passed by the England & Wales Commercial Court against the airline. Justice Vikas Mahajan recorded the consent of the parties. He directed that, without prejudice to their rights and contentions, SpiceJet shall file the...

Himachal Pradesh HC Quashes Cheque Bounce Case Against Society Signatory, Directs Society Impleadment

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that an authorised signatory of a society cannot be prosecuted under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act for dishonour of a cheque issued from the society's account unless the society itself is arraigned as an accused. Justice Sandeep Sharma quashed a complaint filed by Kuldeep Singh against Parveen Rajput, holding that a complaint against an authorised signatory alone is not maintainable when a cheque is issued on behalf of a society that has...

Calcutta High Court Denies Relief To SARFAESI Auctions Buyer After DRT Bars SBI From Issuing Sale Certificate

The Calcutta High Court has held that State Bank of India cannot be faulted for withholding a sale certificate to a successful auction purchaser when it is restrained from doing so by a subsisting Debts Recovery Tribunal order. The Court refused to direct the bank to either complete the sale or refund ₹11.41 crore paid by the purchaser. Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur held: “This is not a case where the respondent bank has failed to issue the sale certificate on its own volition. There is no...

Calcutta High Court Refuses Wife Relief Against Bank's SARFAESI Action Despite DV Act Protection Order

The Calcutta High Court has refused to interfere with HDFC Bank's SARFAESI action against a property despite a wife having secured a domestic violence protection Act order over the same premises. The Court noted that her challenge to the bank's possession notice is already pending before the Debts Recovery Tribunal. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen observed,“In view of availing of such alternative remedy, we are of the considered view that the learned...

Allahabad High Court Rejects Civil Court Relief In Covid Loan Diversion Case, Upholds SARFAESI Action

On 11 May, the Allahabad High Court dismissed an appeal seeking to restrain SARFAESI recovery proceedings against Srijan Hospital, holding that civil courts cannot interfere where a borrower breaches loan conditions by diverting funds and statutory remedies under the SARFAESI Act, 2002 are available. A Bench of Justice Abdul Shahid held: “The appellant/plaintiff has materially changed the purpose of the aforesaid loan. He had entered into an agreement with the respondent-bank under the LGSCAS...

Cheque Bounce Conviction Cannot Be Reversed In Revision Over POA Pleading Defect: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 18 May 2026 held that a conviction in a cheque dishonour case under Section 138 of the NI Act, cannot be set aside at the revision stage merely on the ground that the complaint was filed through a power-of-attorney holder without an averment as to the attorney's personal knowledge of the transaction, unless the accused shows that the defect caused prejudice or resulted in a failure of justice.Justice G Girish noted that in the present case, the Chief Judicial Magistrate...

'Security Cheque' Not Statutorily Defined, Not Exempt From Cheque Bounce Proceedings: Himachal Pradesh HC

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has refused to quash cheque dishonour proceedings at the threshold in a case where the accused claimed the dishonoured cheque had been issued only as security. Justice Sandeep Sharma said a cheque described as a “security cheque” is not automatically excluded from cheque dishonour proceedings. “Needless to say, expression “Security Cheque” is not a statutorily defined expression in the Negotiable Instruments Act, rather same is to be inferred from the pleadings...

Supreme Court Orders No Coercive Steps In Plea Seeking Bar On NI Act Proceedings During Personal Insolvency

Another plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a declaration that proceedings under the Negotiable Instruments Act and the Payment and Settlement Systems Act cannot continue against personal guarantors once the interim moratorium under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is triggered.The plea has been filed by Karan Bhatia, suspended director of Uttam Cylinders Pvt Ltd and a personal guarantor for the company's loans. A Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and...

Borrower Consent Mandatory For SARFAESI Sale At Reserve Price: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently held that a bank cannot confirm the sale of a secured asset in a SARFAESI auction when the highest bid matches the reserve price unless the borrower consents. “The sale of the secured asset in the auction exactly at the reserve price cannot be confirmed by the Authorised Officer without the consent of the borrower,” the Court held. A Division Bench of Justice Cheekati Manavendranath Roy and Justice V. Gopala Krishna Rao dismissed writ petitions filed...

Banks 'Casual' In Granting Big Loans, Small Borrowers Face 'Borderline Harassment': Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday criticised banks for what it described as a casual approach in sanctioning large loans to bigger entities while subjecting ordinary borrowers seeking small personal loans to stringent conditions and tedious procedures that may, in some cases, amount to “borderline harassment." A Bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan clarified that it was not advocating any easing of lending norms, saying those matters were best left to the Reserve Bank of India and...

Proof Of Cheque Execution Under NI Act Triggers Presumption Unless Rebutted: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Monday, 18 May, held that once a complainant proves the transaction and execution of a cheque in a prosecution under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the statutory presumptions under Sections 118 and 139 operate in the complainant's favour unless rebutted by the accused. Justice A. Badharudeen set aside a Trial Court judgment acquitting Jayapal, the accused in a cheque dishonour case involving Rs. 3 lakh and convicted him under Section 138 of the NI Act....