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Section 2: Repeal of enactments

Negotiable Instruments Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1881
Section 1 All 148 Sections of Negotiable Instruments Act Section 3

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 2

Section 2 historically repealed fragmented pre-existing regulations and statutes, providing a clean legislative slate for the codified law of negotiable instruments while maintaining vital savings for existing rights and remedies.

  • Codification Principle: Substituted colonial and fragmented provincial regulations with a single, comprehensive statutory framework governing notes, bills, and cheques.
  • Savings of Existing Rights: Preserved vested rights, liabilities already incurred, and legal proceedings commenced prior to the enactment of the statute.
  • Rule of Interpretation: Where the statute is silent, courts continue to draw upon established mercantile common law principles of equity and fair dealing.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Bank of England v. Vagliano Brothers [1891] AC 107: The House of Lords affirmed the paramount canon of codification: the statute must be interpreted primarily according to its natural language rather than by reference to prior common law authorities.
  • State Bank of India v. Ram Chandra Sakharam: Affirmed that the repeal of archaic mercantile rules did not impair accrued rights or settled banking customs unless in direct conflict with express statutory mandates.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

While Section 2 is primarily of historical and interpretive significance, it serves as a critical interpretive tool when analyzing statutory definitions versus common law doctrines in modern banking and commercial disputes.

Section 1 All 148 Sections of Negotiable Instruments Act Section 3