In Brief
Ripudaman Singh and spouse sold agricultural land to Balkrishna under an agreement dated 28 May 2013 for Rs 1.75 crores. The buyer issued two cheques for Rs 25 lakhs each as balance consideration. Both cheques bounced due to insufficient funds. The sellers filed complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The High Court quashed the complaints, holding that cheques were issued only for balance payment and created no liability. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that payments made pursuant to a legally enforceable agreement to sell constitute enforceable debt for Section 138 purposes. Factual disputes regarding conditional obligations must be tried on merits, not decided under Section 482 CrPC.
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