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2022 (5) TMI 746 - HC - Indian LawsDishonor of Cheque - Bank has been made as party - Liability of bank in case of dishonor of cheque - Vicarious liability of the partner - Section 138 read with Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 - HELD THAT:- What can be observed is that for an offence under Section 138 to be made out a cheque has to be issued by the account holder under his name and signature. It is clear that only the holder of the account on which the cheque is drawn can be made liable and such culpability cannot be extended to others except as provided under Section 141 N.I. Act which deals with offences by and on behalf of the company or partnership, where the signatory to the cheque may be a Director of the company or a Partner of a partnership firm. In the present case, the petitioner/HDFC Bank has been made a party by the complainant/respondent No. 1 where no role can be attributed to the bank as far as the issuance or the dishonour of the cheque in question is concerned. The bank is only the custodian of the money of the customers and has to comply with the instructions of such customers. In case of insufficiency of funds, the bank is only to report the same and as such, cannot by any stretch of the imagination be liable for any act of the customer who has issued the cheque which was later dishonoured. Viewed thus, this Court finds that the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Shillong has failed to appreciate the facts and the provisions of law and has unnecessarily put the petitioner to great hardship by issuing of process. The petitions under consideration finds merit before this Court and the same is accordingly allowed.
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