Supreme Court Dismisses Transfer Petition for Cheque Dishonour Offence under Section 138 of NI Act

The Supreme Court made an observation on June 24 regarding the transfer of a case involving the offence of dishonouring a cheque under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. The court stated that the accused cannot seek the transfer of such a case.

The vacation bench, consisting of Justices AS Oka and Rajesh Bindal, dismissed a transfer petition that was filed by the accused in a case related to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

Justice Oka noted that while the accused can request exemption from personal appearance, they cannot file a transfer petition themselves. The bench observed that they cannot issue an order to transfer a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act based on the request of the accused. Instead, the petitioner can apply for exemption from personal appearance to the concerned court.

Justice Oka mentioned that he had rejected similar transfer petitions in the past and had been involved in several similar cases. On a previous occasion, he had taken the same stance and dismissed a transfer petition filed by a woman senior citizen accused under Section 138. However, he also noted that if the accused applies for exemption, the trial judge should consider it favorably.