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Kaveri Plastics vs Mahdoom Bawa Bahrudeen Noorul

Not available · 2025 INSC 1133Decided 19 Sept 2025
Not available
Chief Justice B.R. Gavai · Justice N.V. Anjaria

Background

Kaveri Plastics had filed a criminal complaint against the respondent over a dishonoured cheque worth Rs. 1,00,00,000, issued in connection with a land-sale memorandum of understanding. However, the statutory demand notice sent after the cheque bounced mistakenly demanded Rs. 2,00,000 instead of the actual cheque amount of Rs. 1,00,000, and this error recurred in a second notice as well. The Delhi High Court quashed the complaint, holding that a demand notice mentioning an incorrect amount was invalid in law, and Kaveri Plastics appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that Section 138's statutory demand notice is a mandatory precondition for prosecution and must precisely state the actual cheque amount, since the provision is penal and requires strict, technical compliance. The Court rejected the argument that the discrepancy was a mere typographical or inadvertent error, noting that the same mistake was repeated in two separate notices, undermining any claim of an innocent slip. Since the "said amount" demanded did not match the cheque amount, the notice was held invalid, and the Court upheld the quashing of the complaint, dismissing the appeal.

Lesson Learnt

Before pursuing a cheque-bounce case, always double-check that the statutory demand notice states the exact amount of the dishonoured cheque, even a seemingly minor or typographical mismatch in the demanded amount can be fatal to the entire prosecution.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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