In Brief
In a dishonoured cheque case under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1981, the trial court had acquitted the appellant. The High Court reversed this acquittal and convicted him, imposing a fine of Rs. 1,20,000 with imprisonment as an alternative. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision, holding that the trial court had wrongly placed an excessive burden on the complainant to prove the debt, when the statutory presumption under Section 138 should have been properly applied. The appeal was dismissed and the conviction affirmed.
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