Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
Sections 138 & 142—Dishonour of cheque—Territorial jurisdiction—Apex Court pronounced its judgment in Dashrath Rupsingh Rathod v. State of Maharashtra, 2014 (9) SCC 129 and held that courts within whose jurisdiction the cheque had been dishonoured by the bank on which it is drawn, would be the competent courts of jurisdiction for entertaining the complaints under Section 138 of the NI Act—In view of judgment in 2014 (9) SCC 129, the MM, returned the complaint filed by first respondent and directed that same be filed before the competent jurisdiction within 30 days—In 2015, an Ordinance, being the NI (Amendment) Ordinance of 2015 was promulgated wherein Section 142 (2) and 142A were inserted in the NI Act—In terms of newly inserted Section 142 (2), the jurisdiction under Section 138 of the Act was vested in the court where the cheque was delivered for collection through the account of the payee—As per newly inserted Section 142A, all cases filed under Section 138 of the Act were to be transferred to the court of appropriate jurisdiction under Section 142 (2) of the Act—In view of said amendment, the first respondent filed an application for restoration of complaint, which was dismissed by the MM, as same was not filed within 30 days—First respondent filed a revision petition against the order of MM, which was allowed by the ASJ vide impugned order—Provisions of Section 142 (2) of the NI Act introduced by the said Ordinance are retrospective in nature—ASJ has correctly placed reliance on the judgment in Pankaj Garg v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi) & Ors., 2015 SCC Online Del 12810 to hold that complaint filed by first respondent had to be taken as pending before the Trial Court in light of the retrospective operation of the said Ordinance—Further, the explanation given by the first respondent in not taking back the complaint and not filing the same before the courts in Mumbai was accepted and the delay in filing the restoration application was correctly allowed—No infirmity found in the impugned order passed by the ASJ—Petition dismissed.
[Paras 10, 11, 12 & 15]