Saurabh Malik
Chandigarh, July 28
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that the drawer of a cheque cannot escape the rigours of the law by claiming that a cheque was given by him to the holder as a security without any legally enforceable debt.
Justice Vikas Bahl of the High Court also made it clear that a person signing a blank cheque gave implied authority to the holder to “fill the blanks”. Once the signature on the blank cheque was admitted by the drawer, his plea seeking the appointment of an expert to show that the handwriting and the ink of the disputed cheque was not his, was liable to be dismissed.
The assertion by Justice Bahl came in a cheque bounce case, where the drawer was seeking the quashing of an order passed by a Judicial Magistrate First Class on December 1, 2021, whereby his application for appointment of a fingerprint and a handwriting expert was dismissed. Another order dated January 18, dismissing his revision petition, was also challenged.
Appearing before Justice Bahl’s Bench, the counsel for the petitioner submitted that application for examination of a handwriting expert deserved to be allowed to prove that the cheque was been given by the petitioner to the holder as a security without there being any legally enforceable debt. The argument, if accepted in a cheque bounce case, can help the drawer in getting relief from the court.
He said the application for appointment of an expert to examine the handwriting in the cheque was liable to be dismissed even if it was taken that the cheque was issued as a “security cheque” or was a “blank signed cheque”. It was more so as 12 effective opportunities had been granted including, last opportunity. The present application was moved only after the same. He said no perversity, illegality or infirmity had been pointed out in the impugned orders to call for interference. The court said the application had been filed only to delay the proceedings in the complaint under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
Can’t claim bounced cheque was ‘security’ to escape law, says Punjab and Haryana High Court
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