11. In Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills Ltd. v. Rajvir Industries Ltd. [(2008) 13 SCC 678], the Supreme Court has made the following observations explaining that a cheque is a property in consideration of Section 406 IPC.
24. However, a case for proceeding against the respondents under Section 406 has, in our opinion, been made out. A cheque being a property, the same was entrusted to the respondents. If the said property has been misappropriated or has been used for a purpose for which the same had not been handed over, a case under Section 406 may be found to have been made out. It may be true that even in a proceeding under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the appellant could raise a defence that the cheques were not meant to be used towards discharge of a lawful liability or a debt, but the same by itself in our opinion would not mean that in an appropriate case, a complaint petition cannot be allowed to be filed.
Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills Ltd. v. Rajvir Industries Ltd. [(2008) 13 SCC 678]
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