Single Complaint U/S 138 NI Act Maintainable For Dishonour Of Multiple Cheques Issued In Same Transaction: Kerala High Court

The High Court held that when several cheques arise out of one connected series of acts forming the same transaction, Section 220 CrPC permits a single prosecution, and a challenge to maintainability on the ground of multiplicity of offences is legally untenable.

that the issuance of several cheques towards repayment of one liability, followed by dishonour and non-payment despite a single statutory demand notice, clearly constituted a connected series of acts with a common purpose. Therefore, the requirements of Section 220 CrPC stood satisfied.

The Court further relied on Supreme Court guidance in In re: Expeditious Trial of Cases under Section 138 NI Act, recognising that several cheque dishonour offences forming part of the same transaction may be tried jointly. It clarified that earlier precedent cited by the petitioner dealt with consolidation of separate complaints under Section 219 and not with the permissibility of a single complaint under Section 220, and therefore was factually distinguishable.

The Bench also referred to a prior decision of the same High Court, which had upheld a single prosecution involving multiple cheques issued in the course of the same transaction. The Delhi High Court had adopted a similar approach in a comparable factual scenario.

Having analysed statutory provisions, precedent, and facts, the Court concluded that “there is absolutely no room for any doubt as to the applicability of Section 220 Cr.PC in the present case, …therefore, the challenge against the maintainability of the criminal prosecution launched against the petitioner in a single complaint in connection with the dishonour of the four cheques is legally unsustainable”.

Conclusion

The Court concluded that the prosecution initiated through a single complaint for dishonour of multiple cheques issued as part of the same transaction was valid in law.

Finding no merit in the challenge, it dismissed the petition seeking quashing of proceedings and upheld the Magistrate’s order allowing the prosecution to continue.

Cause Title: Balachandran v. Sajan Mathew & State of Kerala (Neutral Citation: 2026:KER:13892)