Section 81: Delivery of instrument on payment or indemnity in case of loss

In plain words

A person asked to pay a note, bill or cheque is entitled to see it before paying and to have it handed over on payment, or, if it is lost or cannot be produced, to be indemnified against any further claim on it.

For a truncated cheque, the collecting bank can keep it even after payment.
A certificate on the printout of a truncated cheque image by the paying bank is prima facie proof of payment.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Official text

[(1)] Any person liable to pay, and called upon by the holder thereof to pay, the amount due on a promissory note, bill of exchange or cheque is before payment entitled to have it shown, and is on payment entitled to have it delivered up, to him, or if the instrument is lost or cannot be produced, to be indemnified against any further claim thereon against him.

[(2) Where the cheque is an electronic image of a truncated cheque, even after the payment the banker who received the payment shall be entitled to retain the truncated cheque.

(3) A certificate issued on the foot of the printout of the electronic image of a truncated cheque by the banker who paid the instrument, shall be prima facie proof of such payment.]

Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 15 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 81

No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.