In Brief
A director issued a cheque on behalf of his company for a loan repayment. When the cheque bounced due to insufficient funds, a complaint was filed against only the director, not the company. The High Court dismissed the director's petition seeking dismissal of the complaint. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that under Section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, a company must be arraigned as an accused before any director can be prosecuted for cheque dishonour. The complaint was not maintainable without naming the company as accused and serving a statutory demand notice on it. The Court directed the deposited cheque amount to be paid to the complainant.
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