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Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881

Section 139, NI Act: Presumption in favour of holder

Pundora · Published 3 October 2026

Section 139 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, in the Act's own words.

The section

139. Presumption in favour of holder.

It shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that the holder of a cheque received the cheque of the nature referred to in section 138 for the discharge, in whole or in part, of any debt or other liability.

The text is India Code's consolidated text as loaded into Pundora's statute corpus on 1 September 2026. A section quoted in a draft checked by Pundora is checked against this text.

The cheque-bounce clock. How the deadlines in sections 138 and 142 run, with the judgments that settle the hard points: the section 138 timeline.

Sources

  1. India Code: Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, section 139 (read 1 September 2026)

The Act's own words, from India Code. If the text here differs from the Gazette, the Gazette governs; write to contact@pundora.in and it will be corrected and dated.