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The Advocate

A practice confined to one section

The practice of these chambers is confined to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 — the dishonour of a cheque, commonly called a cheque bounce case. What follows states who the advocate is, the stages at which matters are conducted, the courts before which they are conducted, and the qualifications on which the practice rests.

Advocate Suryanarayan M. Nadar was enrolled with the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa (MAH/4247/2012) in 2012 and has practised from Malad West, Mumbai, since then. His practice is confined to Section 138 cheque dishonour matters under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 — the proceedings commonly called cheque bounce cases — at the statutory notice, complaint, trial, appeal and revision stages.

He appears before the Magistrate and Sessions Courts at Borivali, Andheri, Bandra and Mazgaon, and before the Bombay High Court, at the trial and appellate stages alike.

He acts on either side of a matter — for the holder of a dishonoured cheque, and for a person on whom a demand notice or a summons has been served.

The address of the chambers, the telephone number, the hours at which they are open and the languages spoken there are set out on the home page and on the Contact page.

This website is intended only to provide the visitor, at their own request, with general information about the advocate’s qualifications and area of practice.
— Adv. Suryanarayan M. Nadar

Qualifications

Law Degree: LL.B., University of Mumbai (Gopaldas Jhamatmal Advani Law College), 2011
All India Bar Examination: Qualified; Certificate of Practice, Bar Council of India, 2013 (COP/2013/17324)
Enrolment: 18 August 2012 — Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa, MAH/4247/2012
Only genuine, verifiable qualifications are stated, and nothing beyond them is published. The full set of particulars appears on the home page.

The particulars, in summary

Adv. Suryanarayan M. Nadar (enrolment number MAH/4247/2012, Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa, enrolled 18 August 2012) is an advocate practising from Orlem, Malad West, Mumbai. His area of practice is confined to cheque dishonour matters under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 — the proceedings commonly called cheque bounce cases. He acts at the stages of the statutory demand notice (commonly called a legal notice), the complaint, the summary trial, and the appeal or revision. He acts on either side of a matter. He appears before the Magistrate and Sessions Courts at Borivali, Andheri, Bandra and Mazgaon, and before the Bombay High Court. The chambers are at Shop No. 3, Harmony CHS Ltd, G. B. Marg, Opposite Orlem Church, Orlem, Malad West, Mumbai 400064; telephone +91 91527 45666; email advocate@suryanadar.com; open Monday to Saturday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, consultations by prior appointment only. He speaks and understands English, Hindi, Marathi and Tamil, and a consultation may be held in any of the four.

This paragraph consolidates in one place particulars stated elsewhere on this website. Each of them is true and genuine to the best of the advocate’s knowledge, and their publication is neither an advertisement nor a solicitation of work.

The chambers’ office address, telephone and hours are set out on the Contact page. A person who wishes to consult the advocate may make contact using those particulars, of their own accord. Consultations are by prior appointment only.

Contact Details
Background

The section, and the practice, in sequence

A brief factual outline, alongside relevant developments in the law.

1881
The Negotiable Instruments Act is enacted, codifying the law relating to promissory notes, bills of exchange and cheques.
1988
Chapter XVII, containing Sections 138 to 142, is inserted by the Banking, Public Financial Institutions and Negotiable Instruments Laws (Amendment) Act, 1988, with effect from 1 April 1989 — making the dishonour of a cheque an offence for the first time.
2002
Sections 143 to 147 are inserted by the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002 — providing for summary trial, evidence on affidavit, and the compounding of the offence.
2010
In Rangappa v. Sri Mohan, (2010) 11 SCC 441, a three-Judge Bench holds that the presumption under Section 139 extends to the existence of a legally enforceable debt or liability.
2012
Enrolled with the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa (MAH/4247/2012).
2014
Dashrath Rupsingh Rathod v. State of Maharashtra, (2014) 9 SCC 129, narrows the law on the territorial jurisdiction of the court trying a complaint under Section 138, departing from K. Bhaskaran v. Sankaran Vaidhyan Balan, (1999) 7 SCC 510. The position stated in that decision was subsequently altered by the legislature: see the 2015 entry below.
2015
The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2015 inserts Sections 142(2) and 142A — fixing jurisdiction, where the cheque is delivered for collection through an account, by reference to the branch at which the payee maintains that account; and, where it is presented otherwise than through an account, by reference to the branch of the drawee bank.
2018
The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2018 inserts Section 143A (interim compensation during trial) and Section 148 (deposit in an appeal against conviction).
2019
Basalingappa v. Mudibasappa, (2019) 5 SCC 418, collects the principles governing the rebuttal of the presumptions under Sections 118(a) and 139. In G. J. Raja v. Tejraj Surana, (2019) 19 SCC 469, Section 143A is held to operate prospectively.
2021
A Constitution Bench issues directions on the conduct of trials under Section 138 — In re Expeditious Trial of Cases Under Section 138 of the NI Act, 1881, (2021) 16 SCC 116.
Present
Practice continues from Malad West, Mumbai, in matters under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, before the Magistrate and Sessions Courts and the Bombay High Court.

The entries above relating to statutes and judgments are matters of public record, stated for general information. The entries relating to the advocate are limited to his enrolment and his area of practice. No case in which the advocate has been engaged is referred to.

Professional Obligations

The duties an advocate owes

The conduct of every advocate in India is governed by the Advocates Act, 1961 and by the Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette framed under it by the Bar Council of India. Those standards are not aspirational statements; they are binding rules, and a breach of them is professional misconduct. They are set out here because they, and not any claim made on a website, describe what a client is entitled to expect.

Duty to the Court

To act with dignity and self-respect, and to conduct oneself with a respectful attitude towards the court, bearing in mind the dignity of the judicial office.
Not to influence the decision of a court by any illegal or improper means, and not to communicate privately with a judge on a pending matter.
To use restrained language, and to refuse to act in any illegal or improper manner towards the opposing party or counsel.
BCI Rules, Part VI, Ch. II, Section I.

Duty to the Client

Not to withdraw from an engagement once accepted without sufficient cause and reasonable notice, and to refund the unearned part of any fee on withdrawal.
To make full and frank disclosure of any interest or connection with the parties or the controversy, and not to act where there is a conflict.
Not to disclose any communication made in the course of the engagement, and to keep accounts of the client’s money separate.
BCI Rules, Part VI, Ch. II, Section II; Section 126, Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (now Section 132, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023).

Duty to Opponents and Colleagues

Not to negotiate directly with an opposing party who is represented by an advocate, but only through that advocate; and to carry out every legitimate promise made to the opponent.
Not to solicit work or advertise, directly or indirectly; not to permit one’s name to be used for unauthorised practice; and not to accept a fee less than that taxable under the rules where the client is able to pay it.
Not to enter appearance in a matter in which another advocate is engaged without that advocate’s consent or the permission of the court.
Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette, Bar Council of India Rules, Part VI, Chapter II, Sections III and IV. The rules under which this website is published are set out on the Disclaimer page.
Professional Obligations

What the rules require, and what they forbid

The three matters below are governed by the Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette framed by the Bar Council of India. They are stated on the same footing as the duties above.

On what a client is told. An advocate is not permitted to guarantee a result, and a person who is promised one should treat the promise with caution. What can properly be offered is an assessment of the strength and weakness of a position on the material available, an explanation of the procedure and of the periods prescribed by the statute, and a considered view on the options open — including the option of settlement.

On confidentiality. Communications between a client and an advocate made in the course of and for the purpose of the engagement are privileged. Papers are examined at the chambers or received through channels agreed with the client, and matters are not discussed outside the engagement.

On conflicts. A conflict check is made before an engagement is accepted. Where an interest or a connection with a party or with the controversy exists, it is disclosed, and the engagement is declined where the rules so require.

Four Points of General Application

The dates govern. The date of receipt of the return memo, the date of the notice, and the date of its service determine what remains open under the section and what does not.
The papers are the case. The cheque, the return memo, the postal receipts and acknowledgement, and the record of the underlying transaction are the primary material in almost every matter.
Both sides have rights. The holder of a dishonoured cheque and the person on whom a notice or a summons has been served each have distinct rights and defences under the Act.
Independent advice. Nothing on this website is advice. A person with a question of their own should consult a qualified legal practitioner on their own facts.
Questions

Questions about the chambers

These few questions concern the chambers themselves — the area of practice, how a consultation is attended, which side of a matter is acted for. The questions on the law are answered in the question library.

Matters under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and the provisions of Chapter XVII of that Act connected with it — at the stage of the statutory demand notice, the complaint, the trial, and appeal or revision.
Ordinarily it is attended at the chambers, because the papers are read at it and originals are best seen. Where a person is not in Mumbai, a consultation may be held by telephone or by video link. Whether the original cheque and the return memo need to be produced afterwards is a matter for the engagement, and depends on the stage the matter has reached. This states the modes in which a consultation may be held and nothing further; it is not an offer to act in any matter.
The Magistrate Courts and Sessions Courts at Borivali, Andheri, Bandra and Mazgaon, and the Bombay High Court.
Either. A matter under Section 138 has two sides — the holder of the dishonoured cheque and the person who has received a demand notice or a summons. The practice acts on either side, subject to a conflict check.
Matters are conducted by the advocate personally. Where the assistance of another advocate is necessary for an appearance or for the conduct of a matter, the client is informed.
No. An advocate is not permitted to guarantee or predict a result, and no such assurance is offered. What can be offered is an assessment on the material available and an explanation of the procedure and of the periods prescribed by the statute.
Yes. What a consultation costs is stated when the appointment is made, so that it is known before the appointment is attended. No figure is published on this website. What a matter as a whole will involve cannot be answered before the papers have been seen, and is discussed at the consultation itself.
No. Reading this website, or sending a message through it, does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Such a relationship arises only when an engagement is accepted after a conflict check and the terms of the engagement are agreed.
Because Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules does not permit it. An advocate may not advertise or solicit work, may not publish photographs or comment in connection with cases in which he has been engaged, and may furnish on a website only the particulars prescribed by the proviso to that rule. Client confidentiality independently forbids it.

Notice. This page is an informational page, furnished at the request of the visitor. It contains two things and nothing else: plain particulars of the advocate — his name, enrolment, qualifications and area of practice; and neutral statements of statutory law and of reported judgments in the public domain, stated for general information.

It is not an advertisement, not a solicitation or invitation of work, not an inducement, and not legal advice. No claim of superiority or comparative merit is made, no testimonial or endorsement is published, no result obtained in any matter is stated, and no outcome is promised or predicted. The particulars stated are true and genuine to the best of the advocate’s knowledge.

The address of the chambers and the office hours appear on the Contact page. A person who wishes to discuss a matter may make contact of their own accord.

Contact Information