Simply because a complaint is filed under sec 138 of the negotiable instrument act 1881 does not mean that a person cannot be prosecuted under sec 420 of the Indian penal code. The proceedings under the Negotiable instrument act are for the crimes of issuing the cheque without sufficient wants of the funds while the proceedings under IPC is for the criminal intention of a person.

While prosecuting under sec 138 of negotiable instrument act factors like fraudulent or dishonest intention at the time of issuing the cheque is not required to be proved while prosecuting under sec 420 of IPC all such factors are required to be proved because the punishment under this section is more serious as well as longer which is punishable up to sentence of seven years.

Further it can be said that what is punishable under criminal law is the conduct of the accused or the consequences arising from such conduct. If the fact or the consequences of an act constitute more than one offence then the accused is liable to be prosecuted and punished for all such offences whether such offences are punishable under general penal law as contained in IPC or the same are punishable under general criminal and special criminal law separately.

The mere fact that a conduct is punishable under special law is not the ground to hold that such conduct cannot be punished under general criminal law.