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N. S. SHEKHAWAT
Shalu Arora – Appellant
Versus
Tanu Bathla – Respondent
N.S. SHEKHAWAT, J.
1. The petitioner has filed the present petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. with a prayer to quash the complaint No. NACT/90/2020 dated 16.01.2020 under Section under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 (hereinafter to be referred as 'the Act') (Annexure P-1) pending in the Court of JMFC, SAS Nagar, District Court, Mohali, titled as “Tanu Bathla Vs. Raman Kumar Arora and another” and the summoning order dated 01.02.2020 (Annexure P-2) and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the proceedings under Section 138 of the Act were initiated by the respondent against the petitioner and her husband Raman Kumar Arora by alleging that loan of Rs. 5,00,000/- was taken by the petitioner and her husband from the respondent and in order to pay the loan amount of Rs. 5,00,000/-, a cheque bearing No. 000085 dated 22.11.2019 drawn on Punjab and Sind Bank, New Delhi, Rani Bagh Branch, was handed over to the respondent. The said cheque was dishonoured on presentation by the respondent with his banker with the remark “insufficient funds”. Thereafter, a statutory notice was sent by the respondent to the petition
A joint account holder cannot be prosecuted under Section 138 of the NI Act unless the cheque is signed by each and every joint account holder.
Only the drawer of the cheque can be prosecuted under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, and joint account holders cannot be held vicariously liable for the acts of the drawer.
Only the drawer of a cheque can be prosecuted under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, and in cases of joint accounts, all signatories must be involved for liability to attach.
A joint account holder cannot be prosecuted under Section 138 of the N.I. Act unless they are also a signatory on the cheque; prosecution of a non-drawer constitutes an abuse of process.
A person who is not a signatory to the cheque cannot be prosecuted under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, for the offence of dishonour of cheque for insufficiency of funds.
Only the drawer of a cheque can be prosecuted under Section 138 of the NI Act; a joint account holder is not liable unless they signed the cheque.
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