all the ingredients of commission of an offence U/s 138 NI Act must be satisfied.

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 913 OF 2009 [Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 8059 of 2007]
Raj Kumar Khurana Versus State of (NCT of Delhi) and Anr.

Whether return of a cheque by the bank on the ground that it was reported lost by the drawer would attract the penal provisions contained in Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (for short “the Act”)

A bare perusal of the section 138 of N. I. Act would clearly go to show that by reason thereof a legal fiction has been created. A legal fiction, as is well known, although is required to be given full effect, has its own limitations. It cannot be taken recourse to for any purpose other than the one mentioned in the statute itself.

The court must be satisfied that all the ingredients of commission of an offence under the said provision have been complied with.

The parameters for invoking the provisions of Section 138 of the Act, thus, being limited, we are of the opinion that refusal on the part of the bank to honour the cheque would not bring the matter within the mischief of the provisions of Section 138 of the Act.