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2021 (3) TMI 437 - KERALA HIGH COURTDishonor of Cheque - Personal liability of the Director / Signatory of the Company - insufficient funds - cheque issued to discharge a liability which the signatory of the cheque owed to the appellant - signatory was also the Managing Director of the company - HELD THAT:- In the case on hand, the cheque in question is signed by the respondent for and on behalf of the company and the cheque is issued on an account maintained by the company with the bank. As such, the drawer of the cheque can only be the company and not the signatory, who has affixed the signature on behalf of the company. A reading of Section 138 extracted above clearly shows that it is the drawer of the cheque who is deemed to have committed the offence under the section. It follows therefore that the offence if at all, in the case on hand can be said to have been committed only by the company. If the company is deemed to have committed the offence, necessarily, going by Section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the company should have been made a party to the proceedings and it is only on finding that the company has committed the offence, that the Managing Director could have been made liable for the offence. The appellant is not entitled to contend that the offence has been committed by the Managing Director. Admittedly, the cheque is not drawn on a personal account maintained by the respondent. The cheque specifically states that it has been issued for and on behalf of the company. As such the company alone can be treated as the drawer of the cheque who can be deemed to have committed the offence under Section 138. Admittedly, the appellant does not have a case that the company owes any amount to him - Appeal dismissed.
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