In Brief
A businessman was convicted under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act for issuing a cheque of Rs. 4 lakhs that bounced. The trial court acquitted him, accepting his defence that the cheque was obtained by force. The High Court reversed the acquittal, holding the statutory presumption of debt was not rebutted. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction, finding that the appellant's allegation of forced extraction had been thoroughly investigated and rejected in separate proceedings between the same parties. The Court also noted the parties had prior financial dealings, making the claimed 2003 transaction probable. The defence thus failed to meet the "preponderance of probabilities" standard for rebutting the statutory presumption.
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