India: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

The Supreme Court of India in its recent decision in Sanjabij Tari vs. Kishore S. Borcar and anr. , effectively reiterates and clarifies the legal position under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (NI Act). The judgment deals with several key aspects, including: (i) the scope and strength of the statutory presumptions under Sections 118 and 139, (ii) how and to what extent an accused can challenge the complainant’s financial capacity, (iii) the limited grounds on which revisional courts can interfere with concurrent findings, and (iv) broader directions issued to tackle the growing backlog of cheque dishonour cases.