LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has ruled that dishonouring a “self cheque” does not entitle its bearer to seek a criminal case under section 489-F of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) until and unless there is an endorsement in his favour.

Justice Muhammad Shan Gul issued the ruling setting aside a decision of a justice of peace that ordered registration of a first information report against a petitioner on the basis of a “self” dishonoured cheque on which no endorsement in favour of the eventual bearer was recorded.

In his ruling, the judge observes that section 154 of the CrPC mandates registration or recording of information relating to the commission of a cognisable offence and the information provided by an informant must allege the commission of a cognisable offence.

In case a cheque is made out to self only and there is no supporting evidence that the bearer was in fact a holder in due course of such a cheque, the commission of a cognisable offence cannot be established.

Court rules bearer can’t seek case unless there is endorsement in his favour

Justice Gul holds that if the cheque is issued to “self” only, there will be no question of any offence.

However, the problem arises when a cheque is issued to “self” but the same also allows the (unidentified) bearer to collect the proceeds and is presented by some person (since any bearer can present and get the cheque encashed) and upon its dishonour such person approaches the police for registration of FIR.

In the case before the court the bearer of the cheque was the complainant and asserted the commission of offence without being anything on record to show that he himself was the creditor of the drawer of the cheque.

Therefore, the judge observes, it cannot be ascertained without more that the drawer of the cheque intended that the complainant could present the cheque and hence there is nothing to indicate that the drawer had any intention to issue the cheque to the complainant let alone a dishonest intention and no evidence suggests that the complainant is creditor of the drawer either.

Allowing the petition, Justice Gul maintains that dishonouring a self cheque (even if the reference on the cheque to a bearer is not crossed) does not entitle a bearer to request for registration of a criminal case unless and until there is a positive endorsement in his favour either on the back of the cheque in question or by means of a separate document which would make the bearer a holder in due course.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2021