Supreme Court Benchmark on Electronic Mandate Dishonour & Section 25 PSS Act
Parties: Meter and Instruments Private Limited & Another v. Kanchan Mehta
The appellant challenged proceedings arising from dishonoured repayment instruments, questioning whether criminal prosecution under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act and Section 25 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 can be compounded upon tender of the defaulted installment amount along with reasonable statutory interest.
The Supreme Court ruled that dishonour of electronic mandates under Section 25 of the PSS Act, 2007 attracts the exact same penal consequences, statutory presumptions, and procedural timeline as Section 138 of the NI Act. The court underscored that the primary objective of these statutory provisions is not punitive incarceration but the enforcement of commercial recovery and preservation of credibility in the banking settlement mechanism. The court affirmed that lenders are entitled to immediate statutory restitution.