धारा 32

Section 32 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, deals with inchoate stamped instruments. The section states: 'Where one person signs and delivers to another a paper stamped in accordance with the law relating to negotiable instruments then in force in India, and either wholly blank or having written thereon an incomplete negotiable instrument, the person so signing and delivering the paper shall, unless he and the person to whom the paper is delivered have otherwise agreed without writing, be deemed to have given prima facie authority to the person to whom it is delivered to fill up the blanks and make use of the paper as a complete negotiable instrument; and if the paper is afterwards filled up and negotiated, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that it was duly authorized by the person who signed and delivered it.' This provision aims to prevent fraud by ensuring that the person signing and delivering a blank or incomplete instrument is held accountable for its subsequent use, unless there is an agreement to the contrary. The section emphasizes the importance of the intention of the parties and the presumption of authority in the absence of explicit agreement. Judicial pronouncements have highlighted the necessity of proving that the completion of the instrument was not in accordance with the authority given, to rebut the presumption of authority.