131D. A bill of exchange may be addressed to two or more drawees, whether they are partners or not; but an order addressed to two drawees in the alternative, or to two or more drawees in succession, is not a bill of exchange.
In whose favour a bill may be drawn
131E. A bill if exchange may be drawn payable to, or to the order of, the drawer; or it may be drawn payable to, or to the order of, the drawee.
When presentment for acceptance is necessary
131F. A bill of exchange, in order to fix the acceptor with liability, must be presented for acceptance before it is presented for payment.
When presentment excused
131G. Presentment for acceptance is excused, and a bill of exchange may be treated as dishonoured by non-acceptance-
(a) where the drawee is dead or is insolvent or is a fictitious person or a person not having capacity to contract by bill of exchange;
(b) where, at the due date for presentment, the drawee cannot, after reasonable search, be found at the place at which the bill is to be presented;
(c) where, after the exercise of reasonable diligence such, presentment cannot be effected;
(d) where, although the presentment has been irregular, acceptance has been refused on some other ground.
Holder’s right of recourse against drawn and indorsers
131H. Subject to the provisions of this Act, when a bill of exchange is dishonoured by non-acceptance, an immediate right of recourse against the drawer and indorsers accrues, to the holder, and no presentment for payment is necessary.
Holder may refuse qualified acceptance
131-I. The holder of a bill of exchange may refuse to take a qualified acceptance, and if he does not obtain an unqualified acceptance, may treat the bill as dishonoured by non-acceptance.]
Set of bills
132. Bills of exchange may be drawn in parts, each part being numbered and containing a provision that it shall continue payable only so long as the others remain unpaid. All the parts together make a set; but the whole set constitutes only one bill, and is extinguished when one of the parts, if a separate bill, would be extinguished.
Exception.-When a person accepts or indorses different parts of the bill in favour of different persons, he and the subsequent indorsers of each part are liable on such part as if it were a separate bill.
Holder of first acquired part entitled to all
133. As between holders in due course of different parts of the same set he who first acquired title to his part is entitled to the other parts and the money represented by the bill.
