(Petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure)

M. Karpagavinayagam, J.

The question posed before this Division Bench is as follows:

In the absence of individual notice under Section 138 (b) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, to be served on the director of a company, can the said director be prosecuted for the offence, committed by the company, under Section 138 of the Act?

2. When this question was posed before a learned single Judge, Justice T.V.Masilamani, as he then was, it was brought to the notice of the learned single Judge, that, in Harish C.Chadda, Director, Nubal (India) Ltd. v. XS Financial Services Ltd., 2001 (2) L.W.(Cri.) 625, Justice D. Murugesan held that the prosecution against the director, who has not been served with a statutory notice, is not maintainable. In another decision, rendered by Justice Malai Subramanian, as he then was, in Sarvaraya Textiles Ltd. v. Integrated Finance Ltd., 2001 (1) CTC 725, it is held that prosecution is maintainable, even though notice has not been served on the director, who is sought to be prosecuted, since the notice issued to company amounts to service of notice on all the directors, arrayed as accused,