Under Section 20 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, in the case of an inchoate stamped…

The proviso to s.20 says "no person other than a holder in due course shall recover from the person delivering the instrument anything in excess of the amount intended by him to be paid thereunder". Such a holder can therefore recover up to the intended amount without any ratification, the limit is not a fixed fraction of the sum filled in, and the signer's death does not end the liability.