NI Act Section 131: Non-liability of banker receiving payment of cheque

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 · Chapter 14: Of crossed cheques

¶A banker who has in good faith and without negligence received payment for a customer of a cheque crossed generally or specially to himself shall not, in case the title to the cheque proves defective, incur any liability to the true owner of the cheque by reason only of having received such payment.

¶[Explanation [(I)].-- A banker receives payment of a crossed cheque for a customer within the meaning of this section notwithstanding that he credits his customer's account with the amount of the cheque before receiving payment thereof.]

¶[Explanation II.-- It shall be the duty of the banker who receives payment based on an electronic image of a truncated cheque held with him, to verify the prima facie genuineness of the cheque to be truncated and any fraud, forgery or tampering apparent on the face of the instrument that can be verified with due diligence and ordinary care.]

NI Act: original English/Hindi guides →

Official reference: India Code, Government of India — official section HTML — source review: 5 October 2026.Recorded edition / snapshot date: 2026-10-05.Banaka reference transcription of the official HTML snapshot; not an official or certified edition. Source wording and amendment brackets are retained; layout and footnote callouts are omitted. The recorded date is the review snapshot, not a separately dated consolidation. Hindi guides are original explanations. Read the source amendment notes and current judicial interpretation alongside the text. The historical schedule and section 2 are repealed.Read the original schedule and amendment notes

This text is for reference, not legal advice. Consult the official source for the authoritative text.

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