Petitioner Not Liable for Bounced Cheque Issued by Brother From His Account | Complaint u/s 138 to Be Dismissed | HC

Case Details: Arushi Gupta v. Ajay Chanana - [2023] 157 taxmann.com 460 (Delhi)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • Saurabh Banerjee, J.
  • Raghav Sharma & Ankit Kumar, Advs. for the Petitioner.
  • Vikas Khatri, Adv. for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

In the instant case, the Petitioner along with her brother was a director, shareholder and authorized representative of an entity. A cheque was issued by brother of petitioner in favour of complainant in discharge of some liability.

However, said cheque was dishonored due to ‘Payment stopped by drawer’. Legal notice was served upon petitioner and her brother, however, they failed to make payment within stipulated period.

Hence, complainant proceeded with filing of a complaint under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 against petitioner and other accused persons.

Consequently, the Petitioner filed instant petition under section 482 seeking to quash said complaint. Further, it was noted that impugned cheque had not been issued/drawn by petitioner and it had been issued by her brother from his bank account wherein petitioner was not an account holder.

Further, the respondent had not filed any complaint against said entity where petitioner and her brother were director/shareholder.

High Court Held

The High Court observed that petitioner had hardly any role to play qua cheque involved in instant dispute and could not be held liable for something not concerning her and, thus, she could not have been made an accused in complaint filed by respondent.

Therefore, the High Court held that complaint filed by complainant against petitioner and other accused was to be quashed qua petitioner.