S.138 NI Act Not Attracted for Cheque Issued to Repay Bribe Paid for Public Job: Madras High Court

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has affirmed that a cheque issued for the repayment of money originally paid to illegally secure a public service job is not considered to be for a “legally enforceable debt or liability.” Consequently, the dishonour of such a cheque does not attract the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act.

Justice K. Murali Shankar dismissed a criminal appeal (Crl.A.(MD)No.758 of 2022) filed by a complainant, P. Kulanthaisamy, upholding a trial court’s judgment that had acquitted the accused, K. Murugan.

The legal issue before the High Court was whether the cheque in question, issued to return Rs. 3 lakhs paid by the complainant to the accused for procuring a conductor job in the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), was