Dishonor of Post-Dated Cheque: Partnership Firm Must Be Named Party Before Partners Can Face Section 138 Liability

The HC dismissed an application concerning dishonor of a post-dated cheque under Section 138 of the N.I. Act. The Court held that the proceedings were fatally flawed because the partnership firm (Kishan Construction) was not made a party to the complaint, with only one partner (respondent Kishan Bouri) named as accused. Following precedents in Sarad Kumar Sanghi and Aneeta Hada, the Court emphasized that when a company/firm commits an offense under Section 138, the entity itself must be arraigned as a party before vicarious liability can attach to its partners/directors under Section 141. This defect was deemed incurable as no statutory notice was served on the firm within the prescribed 30-day period. .....

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