This article has been written by Abhinav Anand, a student pursuing B.A. LL.B(H) from DSNLU, Vishakhapatnam.

Introduction

Bank Slip is used by the customers to deposit money to their bank account with the help of cheques and cash. The Bank slip is provided by the bank to the customers as acknowledgement in pursuance of their deposit. The customer can enquire about their previous deposit with the bank by showing their bank slips. The banking system of our country has grown immensely in the digital era, so now the old method of written bank slip is replaced with electronic bank slips. The customer can avail the opportunity of depositing the money with the help of the electronic depositing machine. The bank slip envisages every minute detail so that the particular transaction can be traced by the banks or customer any time, if any conflict arises regarding that transaction.

Different types of Bank slip’s

• DEPOSIT SLIP- The Deposit Slip is a form issued by the bank to the customer for depositing money in their bank account. The deposit slip categorically provides minute detail regarding the deposition of money with the bank. The deposit slip is provided a number after being filled and that number is recorded in the bank registers. The deposit slip provides for the categorical mention of notes of various denominations and the time and date of deposition and also the contact details of the depositor.
• WITHDRAWAL SLIP- The Withdrawal Slip is issued by the bank to the customer for withdrawal of money from their bank account. The withdrawal slip varies from bank to bank. The common rule associated with withdrawal slip is that the customer is allowed to withdraw money from their home branch or the branch where they opened their account. The bank has made stern regulation regarding withdrawal of money from customers’ bank accounts. The bank wants the account holders to be present in person for the withdrawal in order to ensure that the amount is withdrawn by the original person. The bank is meticulous while matching the signature of the customer from the previous signature in order to satisfy themselves as the account holder is one who has withdrawn the amount.
• CHEQUE- The Cheque is a negotiable instrument asking the bank to provide the money from the drawer’s account, written on a printed form. The Cheque is signed by the drawee as per the direction of the respective bank. The cross check of the signature is done by the bank officials then only the money is given to the payee. The withdrawal from the cheque involves three parties: i) cheque drawer ii) drawee iii) payee.
• Demand Draft- The Demand Draft is a pre- paid instrument. The bank which issues the demand draft undertakes the responsibility to pay the amount mentioned in it. The demand has lost its prominence because of the innovative methods of transfer like real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT). But, still the demand draft is in practice for purposes like examination fees, admission in different institutions etc. The bank levies a certain amount of charge to the customer for making the demand draft. The validity of the demand draft is for 6 months. The property that makes the demand draft different from cheques is that it cannot be dishonoured.

Relevant provisions of Negotiable Instrument Act for Bank Slips

Section 146 of Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881 provides for the following:

Bank’s slip prima facie evidence of certain facts.—”The Court shall, in respect of every proceeding under this Chapter, on production of bank’s slip or memo having thereon the official mark denoting that the cheque has been dishonoured, presume the fact of dishonour of such cheque, unless and until such fact is disproved.”

The abovementioned section means that whenever the bank produces any slip or memo with the official mark regarding the dishonour of the cheque the fact becomes a proof unless it is disproved.

Cases

Baban Motiramji Mohod vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors. 

The Court in its judgment held that the perusal of section 146 of negotiable instrument act, 1881 says that the bank slip or memo having an official mark indicates that the cheque is dishonoured and it is proved by the production of the bank slip or memo in the court. The Bank Slip produced becomes an admissible evidence unless and until, the contrary is proved. In this case, the court has favoured the accused by transferring the case to Nagpur as it will favour every party incidental to this case. 

India Cements Investments Services Limited vs T. P. Nallusamy 

The case deals with the derivative contract entered by the parties for the purchase of shares. The cheques were issued to the appellant to cushion the deficit which may arise due to the fall in the prices of the shares. The court looked into the issue of whether the cheque was given as security and it has legal enforceability. The lower court has emphasised on the section 146 of negotiable instrument act and held the respondent liable as the ingredient of liability was decided. The appellate court in this decision held that the lower court has hastily concluded the case without looking into the matter meticulously, so the appellate court set aside the matter and sent the case for reconsideration to the lower court.

Smt. Sudha M. K vs Sri. Lokesh Dayananda 

The Court has led emphasis on section 146 of the negotiable instrument act while deciding the issue raised in the favour of the accused. The court envisaged that the pertinent contention was not satisfied by the accused with relation to section 146 of negotiable instrument act. The accused has miserably failed to disprove the presumption factor inherent to the section 146 of the negotiable instrument act, 1881. The court held the accused liable under section 138 of the negotiable instrument act. 

P. Srinivas vs M. Mani Ratnam 

The court finds it relevant for meticulous study of the section 146 in the case so as to find the liability, if any, arises or shifts by doing the same. The section 146 of negotiable instrument act says that Bank’s slip prima facie evidence of certain facts: The Court shall, in respect of every proceeding under this Chapter, on production of bank’s slip or memo having thereon the official mark denoting that the cheque has been dishonoured, presume the fact of dishonour or such cheque, unless and until such fact is disproved. The court after perusal noted that the accused has failed to disprove the inherent presumption factor inherent to this section. Hence, the court noted that the complainant has convincingly proved that the accused has committed the offence punishable under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act. 

Banker Book Evidence Act, 1891

The act was enacted to regulate the provision that must be adhered with while producing evidence in the court from the bank. The act has manifestly included different provisions which define the method of submission of the document.

Section 4 of the act provides for the mode of producing the evidence in the court. The document produced before the court must be certified according to the procedure in section 2(8) and 2(A) of the acts. The certified nature is required because it establishes the reliability and credibility of the document. The document after getting signed by the branch manager or general manager of the bank becomes a “certified copy”. The certified copy is produced in the court and admissible as a prima facie evidence.

Admissibility of the bank records as evidence 

The RBI with a notification dated 24th April 2009 ordered the state and central cooperative bank to comply with the provision of the banker’s book evidence act, when they submit any of the documents to the court. The notification came in the backdrop of a different incident that happened wherein the bank has arbitrarily submitted the evidence to the court. 

Objection for uncertified Banking Records

The objections can be divided of two types:

1. An objection that the document which is sought to be proved is itself inadmissible in Evidence. 
2. Where the objection does not dispute the admissibility of the document in Evidence but is directed towards the mode of proof alleging. 

Cases 

Bank of India vs Alibhoy Mohammed And Ors. 

The Court in this judgment explicitly refused to accept the affidavit filed by the plaintiff’s bank to admit as evidence. The affidavit filed by the plaintiff has neither been subjected to comply with the existing provision of the banker’s book evidence act nor has been legally authorised by any concerned authority of the bank. The bank has also not produced the original power of attorney entrusted to them by the respondent during the encashment of loan amount as collateral. The bank has merely produced photocopies of those powers of attorney. The power of attorney was not notarised or authenticated. The court observed that the bank has not followed the minimum standard required while producing any of the bank documents as evidence in the court. the bank has flouted the regulation of the Bankers Book Evidence Act. The court dismissed the suit with no cost based on the above mentioned reasons.

M/S ICICI Bank Limited vs Sunil Sharma

The respondent approached the bank for loan under hypothecation scheme for the purpose of the purchase of vehicle. The same was granted by the bank and the stipulation envisaged under the loan agreement was that the loan will be returned by the defendant by 60 instalments. The loan was issued by giving the processing fee and completing the formalities with the bank. Then, after the payment the intended vehicle was purchased. The defendant failed to deposit the instalment on time. The cheques issued by the defendants in the name of instalment dishonoured several times. Finally, the bank has filed a suit for the recovery of the rest amount. The Court while deciding the matter demanded for the loan recall notice which was not produced in original by the bank so, the court observed:

“The loan recall notice in this case could not have been produced in original by the Plaintiff bank. All the other original documents, namely loan documents etc., have been ignored by the Trial Court. No reason exists to disbelieve the statement of accounts filed by the Plaintiff bank which is duly certified under the BBE, Act which is as per the provisions of Section 34 of the Evidence Act and Section 4 of the BBE Act. The insertion of Section 2A to the BBE Act deals with printouts of bank statements and the copies that are certified are deemed to be certified copies under the said Act”. The Court held the loan recall notice as inadmissible evidence and refused to consider it.

Om Prakash v. Central Bureau of Investigation 

The court held that when the conjoint reading of section 34 of Indian evidence act, section 2(8), 2A, and 4 of the Banker Book Evidence Act, and considering various judicial pronouncement of the supreme court the first negation they have was that the prosecution is required to lead admissible evidence to prove the entries in the books of accounts and after having led admissible evidence link the same with other evidence on record to prove the guilt beyond the reasonable doubt. Thus, the certified copy of the evidence must be produced before the court as per the section 2A of the Bankers Book Evidence Act. 

Conclusion

The admissibility of bank slip as evidence in the court has been unchanged in Negotiable Instrument Act ever since the act came into force. The privilege provided to the banking professionals is unchecked and arbitrary. The banking professionals need to appear before the court as witnesses. The testimony given by the banking professional should be considered as primary evidence. The evidence by the banking professional should be recognised as substantive evidence. Furthermore, the regulatory framework of banks needs to be revamped to reduce the workload on the employees. The digitisation of banking services expedited the banking work in the last few years. The government should establish special courts to look into the matters pertaining to dishonour of cheques and bank frauds. 

References

1. https://www.mondaq.com/india/Finance-and-Banking/823596/Evidentiary-Value-Of-Bank-Records
2. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/165771088/
3. https://www.casemine.com/
4. https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=4954&Mode=0