Amount Written In Different Inks In Negotiable Instrument Renders It Void: Madras HC [Read Judgment]

When the amount is written in two different inks in a Negotiable Instrument, it amounts to material alteration, which renders it void in accordance with Section 87 of the Negotiable Instrument Act, the Madras High Court has held.

In this case, the promissory note in question had been filled up in two separate inks and the amount, 35,000 had also been filled up in two separate inks with the digit 3 in blue ink and the amount 5000 immediately succeeding the digit 3 in green ink.

Section 85 of the Negotiable Instrument Acts provides that any material alteration of a negotiable instrument renders the same void as against anyone who is a party thereto at the time of making such alteration and does not consent thereto, unless it was made in order to carry out the common intention of the original parties.

Taking note of this alteration, the First Appellate Court had set aside the decree of the Trial Court. Justice C.V.Karthikeyan, while dismissing the appeal, upheld the findings of the First Appellate Court. The Judge observed:

"The material alteration is visible to the naked eye and the very fact that the amount which is the basis for the claim had been written in two different inks, raises a strong suspicion regarding the circumstances surrounding the execution of the promissory note. It also gives rise to a doubt whether the digit 3 had been subsequently appended after the defendant had signed the promissory note. This would render the document void as against the plaintiff/appellant."

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