Revising judicial reluctance in restoring Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act complaints

underscores the responsibility of the High Court to correct errors committed by subordinate criminal courts when they mechanistically reject petitions seeking the restoration of dismissed complaint cases. Chapter XVII of the Negotiable Instruments Act was introduced to enhance the credibility of commercial transactions and instill confidence in banking operations through criminal sanctions against dishonor of cheques. Dismissing a complaint at the threshold for procedural absence without assessing the circumstances leading to such default defeats this specific legislative purpose. Revisional courts must not adopt an unduly rigid posture in sustaining orders of dismissal for default, but should instead exercise their supervisory jurisdiction to restore complaints to the file of the trial court to ensure that bona fide commercial grievances receive full and fair judicial determination. (Yatendra Singh Vs State of U.P. & Another | 2026 INSC 109)