Tanveer ul Qamar 09 January 2024

138 proceeding against wife who issued cheque for husband's liabilities

That A ( person ) took money from B, (Lender- Private Person) later on he failed to repay the same as promised, B filed cases u/s 420/406 IPC, the A got arrested sent to 14 days Judicial Custody, at the time of Bail hearing Bail was granted on condition that wife will pay the amount, and wife of A issued 3 cheques, all 3 cheques got bounced, Lender B applied for cancellation of bail due to violation of condition, bail gets cancelled, accused sent back to jail. Now B files complaint u/s 138 N.I. Act, against A's wife.

Given the above circumstances can wife be tried and convicted u/s 138 N. I. Act for her husband's debt/liabilities.

thanks & regards

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2 Replies

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate) 09 January 2024

No doubt there's no legally liable debt but she has issued the cheques accepting the liability hence she can be prosecuted under section 138 of NI act

LCI Thought Leader Sanjeev Duggal Advocate 19 January 2024

Under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, bouncing of a cheque due to insufficient funds can lead to criminal liability. However, the liability under this section extends to the person who signs the cheque or is responsible for its issuance, not merely due to their relationship with the primary debtor.

In the scenario provided, the wife of the accused issued the cheques to fulfil the bail condition. While she might be connected to her husband's financial affairs, her liability in this particular matter depends on her involvement in the issuance of those cheques. If she signed the cheques or was directly involved in their issuance, she could be held liable under Section 138 of the N.I. Act.

However, if she was not directly involved in the issuance of the cheques and was merely asked to comply with the bail condition by her husband without understanding the implications or without knowledge of insufficient funds, her culpability might be mitigated.Therefore, the wife's liability would depend on her direct involvement and knowledge regarding the issuance of the bounced cheques.