Section 142A NI Act: Validation for transfer of pending cases

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881

Section 142A NI Act at a Glance

Section 142A NI Act validates the transfer of pending cheque dishonour cases to the court having jurisdiction under Section 142(2) NI Act and sets the single-court rule when multiple complaints under Section 138 NI Act exist against the same drawer.

Section 142A NI Act Bare Act Text

142A. Validation for transfer of pending cases.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) or any judgment, decree, order or direction of any court, all cases transferred to the court having jurisdiction under sub-section (2) of section 142, as amended by the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 (Ord. 6 of 2015), shall be deemed to have been transferred under this Act, as if that sub-section had been in force at all material times.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2) of section 142 or sub-section (1), where the payee or the holder in due course, as the case may be, has filed a complaint against the drawer of a cheque in the court having jurisdiction under sub-section (2) of section 142 or the case has been transferred to that court under sub-section (1) and such complaint is pending in that court, all subsequent complaints arising out of section 138 against the same drawer shall be filed before the same court irrespective of whether those cheques were delivered for collection or presented for payment within the territorial jurisdiction of that court.
(3) If, on the date of the commencement of the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2015 (26 of 2015), more than one prosecution filed by the same payee or holder in due course, as the case may be, against the same drawer of cheques is pending before different courts, upon the said fact having been brought to the notice of the court, such court shall transfer the case to the court having jurisdiction under sub-section (2) of section 142, as amended by the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 (Ord. 6 of 2015), before which the first case was filed and is pending, as if that sub-section had been in force at all material times.

Amendments to this section

Ins. by Act 26 of 2015, s. 4 (w.e.f. 15-6-2015).

Section 142A NI Act in Simple Words

Section 142A NI Act validates the transfer of pending cheque dishonour cases and brings multiple complaints against the same drawer into a single court. Under Section 142A(1) NI Act, all cases transferred to the court having jurisdiction under Section 142(2) NI Act (as amended by the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015) are deemed to have been transferred under the NI Act as if Section 142(2) NI Act had been in force at all material times. This rule applies notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or any judgment, decree, order, or direction of any court. The Act still refers to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) replaced from 1 July 2024.

Section 142A(2) NI Act applies notwithstanding anything in Section 142(2) NI Act or Section 142A(1) NI Act. Where the payee or the holder in due course has filed a complaint against the drawer of a cheque in the court having jurisdiction under Section 142(2) NI Act, or the case has been transferred to that court under Section 142A(1) NI Act, and that complaint is pending in that court, all subsequent complaints arising out of Section 138 NI Act against the same drawer must be filed before that same court. This applies irrespective of whether the cheques in those subsequent complaints were delivered for collection or presented for payment within the territorial jurisdiction of that court.

Section 142A(3) NI Act deals with multiple prosecutions pending on the date of the commencement of the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2015. If more than one prosecution filed by the same payee or holder in due course against the same drawer of cheques was pending before different courts on that date, then once that fact is brought to the notice of the court, that court must transfer the case to the court having jurisdiction under Section 142(2) NI Act (as amended by the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015) before which the first case was filed and is pending, as if Section 142(2) NI Act had been in force at all material times. Act 26 of 2015 inserted Section 142A NI Act from 15 June 2015.

When Section 142A NI Act Applies

Validation of transferred cases (Section 142A(1) NI Act): All cases transferred to the court having jurisdiction under Section 142(2) NI Act, as amended by the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015, are deemed transferred under the NI Act as if Section 142(2) NI Act had been in force at all material times.
Override of Code and court orders (Section 142A(1) NI Act): The validation under Section 142A(1) NI Act operates notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or any judgment, decree, order, or direction of any court.
Single court for subsequent complaints (Section 142A(2) NI Act): When a complaint filed by the payee or holder in due course in the court having jurisdiction under Section 142(2) NI Act (or transferred there under Section 142A(1) NI Act) is pending in that court, all subsequent complaints arising out of Section 138 NI Act against the same drawer must be filed before that same court, irrespective of where those cheques were delivered for collection or presented for payment.
Transfer of multiple prosecutions pending on commencement of the 2015 Amendment Act (Section 142A(3) NI Act): Where more than one prosecution filed by the same payee or holder in due course against the same drawer was pending before different courts on the commencement of the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2015, the court must, upon that fact being brought to its notice, transfer the case to the court having jurisdiction under Section 142(2) NI Act before which the first case was filed and is pending.

Example of Section 142A NI Act

Neha issues two cheques to Kunal for the discharge of a debt. After the first cheque is returned unpaid, Kunal delivers the first cheque for collection through an account at a bank branch in Vijayawada and files a complaint under Section 138 NI Act against Neha in the Vijayawada court having jurisdiction under Section 142(2) NI Act. While that first complaint is pending in the Vijayawada court, the second cheque drawn by Neha is presented for payment otherwise than through an account at Neha's drawee bank branch in Cuttack and is also returned unpaid. Under Section 142A(2) NI Act, Kunal must file the subsequent complaint under Section 138 NI Act against Neha before the same court in Vijayawada where the first complaint is pending, even though the second cheque was presented for payment within the territorial jurisdiction of the Cuttack court.

FAQs on Section 142A NI Act

What is Section 142A NI Act?▼

Section 142A NI Act validates the transfer of pending cheque dishonour cases to the court having jurisdiction under Section 142(2) NI Act as if that provision had been in force at all material times. Section 142A NI Act also requires subsequent complaints under Section 138 NI Act against the same drawer, as well as multiple prosecutions by the same payee or holder in due course pending in different courts on the commencement of the 2015 Amendment Act, to proceed in the single court where the first pending case lies.

Where must a subsequent complaint under Section 138 NI Act against the same drawer be filed when an earlier complaint is still pending?▼

In the same court where the earlier complaint is pending. Under Section 142A(2) NI Act, where a complaint by the payee or holder in due course is pending in the court having jurisdiction under Section 142(2) NI Act (or transferred to that court under Section 142A(1) NI Act), all subsequent complaints arising out of Section 138 NI Act against the same drawer must be filed before that same court.

Does the place where the later cheque was presented for payment change the court for a subsequent complaint under Section 142A(2) NI Act?▼

No. Section 142A(2) NI Act requires all subsequent complaints arising out of Section 138 NI Act against the same drawer to be filed before the same court where the earlier complaint is pending, irrespective of whether the cheques in those subsequent complaints were delivered for collection or presented for payment within the territorial jurisdiction of that court.

What happens under Section 142A(3) NI Act when multiple prosecutions by the same payee against the same drawer were pending in different courts on the commencement of the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2015?▼

The court transfers the case to the court where the first case was filed and is pending. Under Section 142A(3) NI Act, once the fact of multiple pending prosecutions by the same payee or holder in due course against the same drawer is brought to the notice of the court, that court must transfer the case to the court having jurisdiction under Section 142(2) NI Act before which the first case was filed and is pending.

Does a prior court order or the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 block the transfer validation under Section 142A(1) NI Act?▼

No. Section 142A(1) NI Act applies notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or any judgment, decree, order, or direction of any court, and treats all cases transferred to the court having jurisdiction under Section 142(2) NI Act as transferred under the NI Act as if Section 142(2) NI Act had been in force at all material times.

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Sources: Bare Act Text, Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (India Code) ·