Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 · Chapter VII: Of Discharge From Liability on Notes, Bills and Cheques
Section 83: Discharge by allowing drawee more than forty-eight hours to accept
In plain words
If the holder gives the drawee more than forty-eight hours, excluding public holidays, to decide whether to accept a bill, all earlier parties who did not agree to this are discharged towards the holder.
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
If the holder of a bill of exchange allows the drawee more than [forty-eight] hours, exclusive of public holidays, to consider whether he will accept the same, all previous parties not consenting to such allowance are thereby discharge from liability to such holder.
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 83
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.