Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act: Essential Trial Court Best Practices and Statutory Compliance
Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act: Essential Trial Court Best Practices and Statutory Compliance Introduction: The Judicial Role in Commercial Credibility In the contemporary commercial architecture of Bangladesh, the liquidity of trade and the security of financial transactions rely heavily upon the integrity of negotiable instruments, chief among them being the commercial cheque. To protect commercial dealings from bad faith, fraud, and default, the legislature enacted Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 ( "NI Act" ). Originally designed to instill absolute confidence in banking instruments, Section 138 has evolved into one of the most vigorously litigated provisions across the trial courts of Bangladesh, crowding the dockets of Judicial Magistrates, Metropolitan Magistrates, and Sessions Courts alike. For Bangladesh Judicial Service (BJS) candidates, law students, and active trial practitioners, mastering Section 138 requires more than a s...