Nothing in the foregoing sections of this Chapter applies to stocks, shares or debentures, or to instruments which are for the time being, by law or custom, negotiable, or to any mercantile document of title to goods.
Explanation.— The expression "mercantile document of title to goods" includes a bill of lading, dock-warrant, warehouse-keeper's certificate, railway receipt, warrant or order for the delivery of goods, and any other document used in the ordinary course of business as proof of the possession or control of goods, or authorising or purporting to authorise, either by endorsement or by delivery, the possessor of the document to transfer or receive goods thereby represented.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 137
Section 137 saves negotiable instruments, stocks, shares, debentures, and mercantile documents of title to goods from the provisions of Chapter VIII regarding actionable claims.
Promissory notes, cheques, and bills of exchange are transferred by endorsement and delivery under the NI Act; do not use TPA Section 130 assignment deeds for negotiable instruments.