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2023 (12) TMI 517 - DELHI HIGH COURTDishonour of Cheque - scope of section 138 of NI Act - vicarious liability on petitioner or not - whether the petitioner herein would come within the ambit of Section 138 of the Act and be impleaded as an accused in the complaint before the learned MM? - HELD THAT:- As per Section 138 of the Act, if the drawer of the cheque fails to make the payment on receipt of the legal notice, he is liable to be prosecuted under Section 138 of the Act. In the present proceedings, admittedly, the impugned cheque has not been issued/ drawn by the petitioner and it has been issued by her brother from his bank account wherein the petitioner is not an account holder. As such, in view of the provisions of Section 138 of the Act, the petitioner, under the present circumstances, cannot be held liable for something not concerning her. Further, though the petitioner, along with her brother, is a Director, shareholder and authorised representative of an entity, namely, A.R. Restaurant India Pvt. Ltd., however, the respondent has not filed any complaint against the said entity. In view thereof, the petitioner has hardly any role to play qua the cheque involved in the present dispute. Thus, the petitioner ought not to have been made an accused in the complaint by the respondent. More so, whence no vicarious liability can be fastened upon the petitioner. It is trite law that penal provisions should be construed strictly and the emphasis is on the words, “such person‟ which relates to the person, who has drawn the cheque in favour of the payee. The complaint is quashed - petition allowed.
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