2001 (2) TMI 961

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..... to quash the proceedings, I am impressed by one of the grounds, on the basis of which the proceedings can be quashed as against these petitioners. 3. It is settled law that when a complaint has been filed under sections 138 and 141 of the Act in respect of non-payment of the cheque amount against the company, all the directors or partners in charge of and responsible for the affairs of the company are also liable to be punished and as such, the complaint against all the directors is maintainable. However, it is laid down by this Court as well as the Apex Court that there shall be necessary averments in the complaint that those directors are in charge of and responsible for the affairs of the company and in the absence of such allegat .....

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..... person, at the time when the offence was committed, who was in charge of and responsible for the conduct of the business of the company shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and liable to be punished. From this, it is clear that a person other than the company can be proceeded against under this Act only when the person was in charge of and responsible for the conduct of the business of the company. 7. It is true, as pointed out by Mr. Govindaraj, the learned counsel for the respondent, that it is averred in para 14 of the complaint, that accused Nos. 2 to 12 are managing the day-to-day affairs and business of the company and as such, they are jointly and severally liable for the offences committed by them and it would be suffic .....

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..... ered by the Supreme Court would squarely apply to the present facts of the case. The relevant portion of the observation made by the Supreme Court is as follows: ". . . All the accused persons are also responsible for the dishonourment of the cheques under the Negotiable Instruments Act and all are liable to be punished for the offences committed under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. All the accused persons have failed to make the payment of the dishonoured cheques despite the legal notice which was sent by registered post. From a perusal of the excerpts of the complaint, it is seen that nowhere it is stated that on the date when the offence is alleged to have been committed, the appellant was in charge of or was responsi .....

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