* Author
[2024] 3 S.C.R. 647 : 2024 INSC 206
Susela Padmavathy Amma
v.
M/S Bharti Airtel Limited
(Criminal Appeal Nos. 1577-1578 of 2024)
15 March 2024
[B.R. Gavai* and Sandeep Mehta, JJ.]
Issue for Consideration
The High Court rejected the prayer for quashing of criminal
complaints qua the appellant in connection with the offence
punishable u/s. 138 r/w. s.142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act,
1881.
Headnotes
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 – s.138 r/w. s.142 – The
grievance of the complainant-respondent is that in-spite of
regular follow-ups and reminders, the company-accused
no.1 failed and neglected to clear the respondent’s dues –
On repeated demands, the company furnished respondent
five cheques – When complainant deposited the cheques,
they were returned unpaid with reason “payment stopped by
drawer” – Accordingly, the respondent filed two complaints
u/s. 190(i)(a) of the Cr.P.C. for offences punishable u/ss. 138
& 142 of the N.I. Act – Both the complaints were filed against
three accused persons including appellant herein (accused
no.3) – Appellant sought to quash criminal proceedings against
her u/s. 482 Cr.P.C, however the same was dismissed by the
High Court – Propriety:
Held: On perusal of the complaint, it is clear that the only allegation
against the present appellant is that she and the accused No.2
had no intention to pay the dues that they owe to the complainant
– It is stated that the 2nd accused and the 3rd accused (appellant
herein) are the Directors, promoters of the 1st accused being
the Company – It is further averred that the 2nd accused is the
authorized signatory, who is in-charge of and responsible for the
day-to-day affairs of the Company, i.e., the 1st accused – It can be
clearly seen that there is no averment to the effect that the present
appellant is in-charge of and responsible for the day-to-day affairs
648 [2024] 3 S.C.R.
Digital Supreme Court Reports
of the Company – It is also not the case of the respondent that the
appellant is either the Managing Director or the Joint Managing
Director of the Company – The averments made are not sufficient
to invoke the provisions of s.141 of the N.I. Act qua the appellant
– Thus, the criminal proceedings in connection with the offence
punishable u/s. 138 r/w. s.142 of the N.I. Act are quashed and set
aside qua the present appellant. [Paras 19-22]
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 – s.138, s.141 – Vicarious
liability of the director:
Held: Merely reproducing the words of the section without a clear
statement of fact as to how and in what manner a director of the
company was responsible for the conduct of the business of the
company, would not ipso facto make the director vicariously liable.
[Para 12]
Case Law Cited
State of Haryana v. Brij Lal Mittal and others [1998] 3
SCR 104 : (1998) 5 SCC 343; S.M.S. Pharmaceuticals
Ltd. v. Neeta Bhalla and another [2005] Suppl. 3 SCR
371 : (2005) 8 SCC 89; Pooja Ravinder Devidasani
v. State of Maharashtra and another [2014] 14 SCR
1468 : (2014) 16 SCC 1; State of NCT of Delhi through
Prosecuting Officer, Insecticides, Government of NCT,
Delhi v. Rajiv Khurana [2010] 9 SCR 387 : (2010)
11 SCC 469; Ashoke Mal Bafna v. Upper India Steel
Manufacturing and Engineering Company Limited (2018)
14 SCC 202 – relied on.
N.K. Wahi v. Shekhar Singh and others [2007] 3 SCR
883 : (2007) 9 SCC 481; Krishi Utpadan Mandi Samiti
and others v. Pilibhit Pantnagar Beej Ltd. and another
[2003] Suppl. 6 SCR 344 : (2004) 1 SCC 391; Laxmi
Dyechem v. State of Gujarat and others [2012] 11
SCR 466 : (2012) 13 SCC 375; K.K. Ahuja v. V.K. Vora
and another [2009] 9 SCR 1144 : (2009) 10 SCC 48;
Lalankumar Singh and others v. State of Maharashtra
[2022] 14 SCR 573 : 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1383 –
referred to.
List of Acts
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881; Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
[2024] 3 S.C.R. 649
Susela Padmavathy Amma v. M/S Bharti Airtel Limited
List of Keywords
Failure to pay dues; Dishonour of cheque for insufficiency,
etc., of funds in the account; In-charge of company; Authorized
signatory; Responsible to company; Conduct of company; Criminal
proceedings; Quashing.
Case Arising From
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal Nos.1577-
1578 of 2024
From the Judgment and Order dated 26.04.2022 in CRLOP
Nos.3470 and 5767 of 2019 of the High Court of Judicature at
Madras
Appearances for Parties
Manoj V George, Ms. Shilpa Liza George, Km Vignesh Ram, Nasib
Masih, Ms. Akshita Agrawal, Ms. Chaahat Khanna, Advs. for the
Appellant.
Lakshmeesh S. Kamath, Ms. Samriti Ahuja, Karan Singh Dalal, Advs.
for the Respondent.
Judgment / Order of the Supreme Court
Judgment
B.R. Gavai, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. The present appeals challenge the common judgment and order
dated 26th April, 2022 passed by the High Court of Judicature at
Madras (hereinafter referred to as “High Court”), in Crl. O.P. Nos.
3470 & 5767 of 2019 and Crl. M.P. Nos. 2224, 2225 & 3255 of 2019,
whereby the High Court rejected the prayer for quashing of C.C.
Nos. 3151 & 3150 of 2017, on the file of learned XVIII Metropolitan
Magistrate, Saidapet, Chennai (now transferred to the learned
Metropolitan Magistrate, Fast Track Court-III, Saidapet, Chennai),
in connection with the offence punishable under Section 138 read
with Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter
referred to as “the N.I. Act”).
3. The facts, in brief, giving rise to the present appeals are as follows:
650 [2024] 3 S.C.R.
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3.1 M/s. Bharti Airtel Limited (hereinafter referred to as, “complainant”
or “respondent”), is a company engaged in the business of
providing telecommunication services, under a license issued
by the Government of India, in various telecom circles in India.
3.2 One M/s. Fibtel Telecom Solutions (India) Private Limited
(hereinafter referred to as, “Fibtel Telecom Solutions” or
“Company”), a company registered with the Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) as a telemarketer, had approached the
respondent intending to obtain telecom resources for the purpose
of transactional communication and requested the complainant
for allotment of telecom resources for the said purpose. One
Manju Sukumaran Lalitha is the Director & Authorized Signatory
of Fibtel Telecom Solutions and one Susela Padmavathy Amma,
the appellant herein, is the Director of Fibtel Telecom Solutions.
3.3 Based on the representation made by Fibtel Telecom Solutions,
the respondent had agreed to provide the required services,
whereupon the parties entered into a Service Agreement, vide
which Fibtel Telecom Solutions had to pay Rs. 14,00,000/- as
fixed monthly recurring charges to the respondent. It is the thus
the case of the respondent that Fibtel Telecom Solutions owes
a sum of Rs. 2,55,08,309/-, in lieu of the service provided to
it by the respondent.
3.4 However, the grievance of the respondent is that in-spite of
regular follow-ups and reminders, Fibtel Telecom Solutions
failed and neglected to clear the respondent’s dues. Only
thereafter, upon repeated demands made by the respondent,
Fibtel Telecom Solutions furnished five post-dated cheques to
the complainant, on 17 th June 2016, details of which are as
given below:
Sr. No. Cheque No. Cheque Dated Cheque Amount
1 414199 25.06.2016 Rs. 25,00,000/-
2 414196 31.08.2016 Rs. 50,00,000/-
3 414204 31.08.2016 Rs. 80,00,000/-
4 414195 31.07.2016 Rs. 45,00,000/-
5 414205 30.09.2016 Rs. 80,00,000/-
[2024] 3 S.C.R. 651
Susela Padmavathy Amma v. M/S Bharti Airtel Limited
3.5 On deposit of the cheque mentioned at Sr. No. 1 in the table,
bearing cheque no. 414199 and dated 25th June 2016, by the
respondent, the said cheque was returned to it unpaid with
reason “payment stopped by drawer”. Aggrieved thereby, the
respondent issued a legal notice to Fibtel Telecom Solutions,
on receipt of which & following an oral agreement between
them, a payment schedule was agreed to and a cheque for an
amount of Rs. 25,00,000/- drawn by Fibtel Telecom Solutions
was honoured by it. However, when the complainant deposited
the remaining four cheques as mentioned at Sr. No. 2 to 5 in
the table, the same were returned to it unpaid with reason
“payment stopped by drawer”. Details of deposit & return of
cheques are as given below:
Cheque
No.
Cheque
Presented
On
Cheque
Returned
On
Legal
Notice
Reply
414196 23.09.2016 26.09.2016 13.10.2016 12.11.2016
414204 23.09.2016 26.09.2016 13.10.2016 12.11.2016
414195 25.10.2016 26.10.2016 09.11.2016 No reply
414205 17.10.2016 18.10.2016 10.11.2016 29.11.2016
3.6 Accordingly, the respondent filed two complaints under Section
190(i)(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (“CrPC” for
short) for offences punishable under Section 138 & 142 of the
N.I. Act, being C.C. No. 3151 of 2017 dated 30th November, 2016
and C.C. No. 3150 of 2017 dated 23rd December, 2016, before
the learned XVIII Metropolitan Magistrate, Saidapet, Chennai.
3.7 Both the complaints have been filed against three accused
persons namely, Fibtel Telecom Solutions, arrayed as Accused
No. 1; Manju Sukumaran Lalitha, arrayed as Accused No. 2 &
Susela Padmavathy Amma, the appellant herein, arrayed as
Accused No. 3.
3.8 Accused No. 3, who is a female senior citizen and the Director
of Fibtel Telecom Solutions, filed Crl. O.P. No. 3470 of 2019
against C.C. No. 3151 of 2017 & Crl. O.P. No. 5767 of 2019
against C.C. No. 3150 of 2017, before the High Court under
652 [2024] 3 S.C.R.
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Section 482 of the CrPC for quashing of the criminal complaints
qua her.
3.9 Vide impugned judgment and order, dated 26th April, 2022, the
High Court dismissed Crl. O.P. Nos. 3470 & 5767 of 2019 and
Crl. M.P. Nos. 2224, 2225 & 3255 of 2019, but directed the
concerned trial court to dispose of the case within a period of
three months.
3.10 Aggrieved by the rejection of the petition for quashing of criminal
complaints, the appellant herein filed the present appeal.
3.11 Vide order dated 12 th December 2022, this Court had issued
notice and stay of further proceedings qua the appellant was
granted.
4. We have heard Shri Manoj V. George, learned counsel for the
appellant and Shri Lakshmeesh S. Kamath, learned counsel appearing
for the respondent.
5. Shri Manoj V. George, learned counsel for the appellant submitted
that the appellant is an aged-lady and was not involved in the day-today affairs of the Company. It is submitted that even in the complaint
there are no averments that the appellant was in-charge of day-today affairs of the Company. It is further submitted that the appellant
was also not a signatory to the cheque in question. It was only the
accused No.2 who was the signatory to the cheque. It is, therefore,
submitted that the High Court has grossly erred in not allowing the
petition for quashing of criminal complaints qua the appellant. Learned
counsel relied on the judgments of this Court in the cases of N.K.
Wahi vs. Shekhar Singh and others1
, S.M.S. Pharmaceuticals
Ltd. vs. Neeta Bhalla and another2
Ashoke Mal Bafna vs. Upper
India Steel Manufacturing and Engineering Company Limited3
,
Krishi Utpadan Mandi Samiti and others vs Pilibhit Pantnagar
Beej Ltd. and another4
and Laxmi Dyechem vs. State of Gujarat
and others5
in support of his submissions.
1 [2007] 3 SCR 883 : (2007) 9 SCC 481
2 [2005] Suppl. 3 SCR 371 : (2005) 8 SCC 89
3 (2018) 14 SCC 202
4 [2003] Suppl. 6 SCR 344 : (2004) 1 SCC 391
5 [2012] 11 SCR 466 : (2012) 13 SCC 375
[2024] 3 S.C.R. 653
Susela Padmavathy Amma v. M/S Bharti Airtel Limited
6. Shri Lakshmeesh S. Kamath, learned counsel for the respondent,
on the contrary, submitted that the learned judge of the High Court
has rightly, after considering the material on record, dismissed the
petition for quashing of criminal complaints qua the appellant. It is
submitted that the grounds raised are the defense of the accused
and it can only be raised at the stage of the trial. It is, therefore,
submitted that no interference is warranted in the present appeal.
7. In the case of State of Haryana vs. Brij Lal Mittal and others6
,
this Court observed thus:
“8. Nonetheless, we find that the impugned judgment of
the High Court has got to be upheld for an altogether
different reason. Admittedly, the three respondents were
being prosecuted as directors of the manufacturers with
the aid of Section 34(1) of the Act which reads as under:
“34. Offences by companies.—(1) Where an offence
under this Act has been committed by a company,
every person who at the time the offence was
committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to
the company for the conduct of the business of the
company, as well as the company shall be deemed
to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be
proceeded against and punished accordingly:
Provided that nothing contained in this subsection shall render any such person liable to
any punishment provided in this Act if he proves
that the offence was committed without his
knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence
to prevent the commission of such offence.”
It is thus seen that the vicarious liability of a person for
being prosecuted for an offence committed under the Act
by a company arises if at the material time he was in
charge of and was also responsible to the company for
the conduct of its business. Simply because a person is a
director of the company it does not necessarily mean that
6 [1998] 3 SCR 104 : (1998) 5 SCC 343
654 [2024] 3 S.C.R.
Digital Supreme Court Reports
he fulfils both the above requirements so as to make him
liable. Conversely, without being a director a person can
be in charge of and responsible to the company for the
conduct of its business. From the complaint in question
we, however, find that except a bald statement that the
respondents were directors of the manufacturers, there is
no other allegation to indicate, even prima facie, that they
were in charge of the company and also responsible to
the company for the conduct of its business.”
8. It could thus be seen that this Court had held that simply because
a person is a director of the company, it does not necessarily mean
that he fulfils the twin requirements of Section 34(1) of the said Act
so as to make him liable. It has been held that a person cannot be
made liable unless, at the material time, he was in-charge of and
was also responsible to the company for the conduct of its business.
9. In the case of S.M.S. Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (supra), this Court was
considering the question as to whether it was sufficient to make the
person liable for being a director of a company under Section 141
of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. This Court considered the
definition of the word “director as defined in Section 2(13) of the
Companies Act, 1956. This Court observed thus:
“8. ....... There is nothing which suggests that simply by
being a director in a company, one is supposed to discharge
particular functions on behalf of a company. It happens
that a person may be a director in a company but he may
not know anything about the day-to-day functioning of the
company. As a director he may be attending meetings of
the Board of Directors of the company where usually they
decide policy matters and guide the course of business
of a company. It may be that a Board of Directors may
appoint sub-committees consisting of one or two directors
out of the Board of the company who may be made
responsible for the day-to-day functions of the company.
These are matters which form part of resolutions of the
Board of Directors of a company. Nothing is oral. What
emerges from this is that the role of a director in a company
is a question of fact depending on the peculiar facts in
each case. There is no universal rule that a director of
[2024] 3 S.C.R. 655
Susela Padmavathy Amma v. M/S Bharti Airtel Limited
a company is in charge of its everyday affairs. We have
discussed about the position of a director in a company in
order to illustrate the point that there is no magic as such
in a particular word, be it director, manager or secretary.
It all depends upon the respective roles assigned to the
officers in a company. .....”
10. It was held that merely because a person is a director of a company,
it is not necessary that he is aware about the day-to-day functioning
of the company. This Court held that there is no universal rule that
a director of a company is in charge of its everyday affairs. It was,
therefore, necessary, to aver as to how the director of the company
was in charge of day-to-day affairs of the company or responsible
to the affairs of the company. This Court, however, clarified that
the position of a managing director or a joint managing director
in a company may be different. This Court further held that these
persons, as the designation of their office suggests, are in charge of
a company and are responsible for the conduct of the business of
the company. To escape liability, they will have to prove that when
the offence was committed, they had no knowledge of the offence
or that they exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission
of the offence.
11. In the case of Pooja Ravinder Devidasani vs. State of Maharashtra
and another7
this Court observed thus:
“17. ....... Every person connected with the Company will
not fall into the ambit of the provision. Time and again, it
has been asserted by this Court that only those persons
who were in charge of and responsible for the conduct of
the business of the Company at the time of commission
of an offence will be liable for criminal action. A Director,
who was not in charge of and was not responsible for the
conduct of the business of the Company at the relevant
time, will not be liable for an offence under Section 141 of
the NI Act. In National Small Industries Corpn. [National
Small Industries Corpn. Ltd. v. Harmeet Singh Paintal,
(2010) 3 SCC 330 : (2010) 1 SCC (Civ) 677 : (2010) 2
7 [2014] 14 SCR 1468 : (2014) 16 SCC 1
656 [2024] 3 S.C.R.
Digital Supreme Court Reports
SCC (Cri) 1113] this Court observed: (SCC p. 336, paras
13-14)
“13. Section 141 is a penal provision creating vicarious
liability, and which, as per settled law, must be strictly
construed. It is therefore, not sufficient to make a bald
cursory statement in a complaint that the Director (arrayed
as an accused) is in charge of and responsible to the
company for the conduct of the business of the company
without anything more as to the role of the Director. But the
complaint should spell out as to how and in what manner
Respondent 1 was in charge of or was responsible to the
accused Company for the conduct of its business. This is
in consonance with strict interpretation of penal statutes,
especially, where such statutes create vicarious liability.
14. A company may have a number of Directors and to
make any or all the Directors as accused in a complaint
merely on the basis of a statement that they are in charge
of and responsible for the conduct of the business of
the company without anything more is not a sufficient or
adequate fulfilment of the requirements under Section 141.”
(emphasis in original)
18. In Girdhari Lal Gupta v. D.H. Mehta [Girdhari Lal Gupta
v. D.H. Mehta, (1971) 3 SCC 189 : 1971 SCC (Cri) 279 :
AIR 1971 SC 2162] , this Court observed that a person “in
charge of a business” means that the person should be in
overall control of the day-to-day business of the Company.
19. A Director of a company is liable to be convicted for
an offence committed by the company if he/she was in
charge of and was responsible to the company for the
conduct of its business or if it is proved that the offence
was committed with the consent or connivance of, or was
attributable to any negligence on the part of the Director
concerned (see State of Karnataka v. Pratap Chand [State
of Karnataka v. Pratap Chand, (1981) 2 SCC 335 : 1981
SCC (Cri) 453] ).
20. In other words, the law laid down by this Court is that
for making a Director of a company liable for the offences
[2024] 3 S.C.R. 657
Susela Padmavathy Amma v. M/S Bharti Airtel Limited
committed by the company under Section 141 of the NI
Act, there must be specific averments against the Director
showing as to how and in what manner the Director was
responsible for the conduct of the business of the company.
21. In Sabitha Ramamurthy v. R.B.S. Channabasavaradhya
[Sabitha Ramamurthy v. R.B.S. Channabasavaradhya,
(2006) 10 SCC 581 : (2007) 1 SCC (Cri) 621] , it was held
by this Court that: (SCC pp. 584-85, para 7)
“7. ... it is not necessary for the complainant to specifically
reproduce the wordings of the section but what is required
is a clear statement of fact so as to enable the court to
arrive at a prima facie opinion that the accused is vicariously
liable. Section 141 raises a legal fiction. By reason of the
said provision, a person although is not personally liable for
commission of such an offence would be vicariously liable
therefor. Such vicarious liability can be inferred so far as a
company registered or incorporated under the Companies
Act, 1956 is concerned only if the requisite statements,
which are required to be averred in the complaint petition,
are made so as to make the accused therein vicariously
liable for the offence committed by the company.”
(emphasis supplied)
By verbatim reproducing the words of the section without
a clear statement of fact supported by proper evidence,
so as to make the accused vicariously liable, is a ground
for quashing proceedings initiated against such person
under Section 141 of the NI Act.”
12. It could thus clearly be seen that this Court has held that merely
reproducing the words of the section without a clear statement of
fact as to how and in what manner a director of the company was
responsible for the conduct of the business of the company, would
not ipso facto make the director vicariously liable.
13. A similar view has previously been taken by this Court in the case
of K.K. Ahuja vs. V.K. Vora and another8
.
8 [2009] 9 SCR 1144 : (2009) 10 SCC 48
658 [2024] 3 S.C.R.
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14. In the case of State of NCT of Delhi through Prosecuting Officer,
Insecticides, Government of NCT, Delhi vs. Rajiv Khurana9
, this
Court reiterated the position thus:
“17. The ratio of all these cases is that the complainant
is required to state in the complaint how a Director who
is sought to be made an accused, was in charge of the
business of the company or responsible for the conduct of
the company’s business. Every Director need not be and
is not in charge of the business of the company. If that
is the position with regard to a Director, it is needless to
emphasise that in the case of non-Director officers, it is
all the more necessary to state what were his duties and
responsibilities in the conduct of business of the company
and how and in what manner he is responsible or liable.”
15. In the case of Ashoke Mal Bafna (supra), this Court observed thus:
“9. To fasten vicarious liability under Section 141 of the
Act on a person, the law is well settled by this Court in a
catena of cases that the complainant should specifically
show as to how and in what manner the accused was
responsible. Simply because a person is a Director of a
defaulter Company, does not make him liable under the
Act. Time and again, it has been asserted by this Court
that only the person who was at the helm of affairs of
the Company and in charge of and responsible for the
conduct of the business at the time of commission of
an offence will be liable for criminal action. (See Pooja
Ravinder Devidasani v. State of Maharashtra [Pooja
Ravinder Devidasani v. State of Maharashtra, (2014) 16
SCC 1 : (2015) 3 SCC (Civ) 384 : (2015) 3 SCC (Cri)
378 : AIR 2015 SC 675].)
10. In other words, the law laid down by this Court is
that for making a Director of a Company liable for the
offences committed by the Company under Section 141
of the Act, there must be specific averments against
the Director showing as to how and in what manner the
9 [2010] 9 SCR 387 : (2010) 11 SCC 469
[2024] 3 S.C.R. 659
Susela Padmavathy Amma v. M/S Bharti Airtel Limited
Director was responsible for the conduct of the business
of the Company.”
16. A similar view has been taken by this Court in the case of Lalankumar
Singh and others vs. State of Maharashtra10 to which one of us
(B.R. Gavai, J.) was a party.
17. In the light of this settled legal position, let us examine the averments
made in the complaints.
18. It will be relevant to refer to para 16 of the complaint bearing No.
CC 3151/2017 filed by the respondent before the Court of XVIII
Metropolitan Magistrate, Saidapet, Chennai dated 30th November
2016, which reads thus:
“16. The Complainant states that the Accused has an
intention of cheating the Complainant. The 2nd and 3rd
Accused herein has no intention to pay the dues that
they owe to the Complainant. Instead, making the
complainant believe that the same would be paid and
through which trying to push the liability to future. It is
also pertinent to note that the 2nd and 3rd of the Accused
herein are the Directors, promoters of the 1st Accused
being the Company. The 2nd of the Accused herein
is the authorized signatory, who is in-charge of and
responsible for the day to day affairs of the Company,
the 1st Accused.”
19. It can thus be seen that the only allegation against the present
appellant is that the present appellant and the accused No.2 had
no intention to pay the dues that they owe to the complainant. It is
stated that the 2 nd accused and the 3rd accused (appellant herein)
are the Directors, promoters of the 1st accused being the Company.
It is further averred that the 2 nd accused is the authorized signatory,
who is in-charge of and responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the
Company, i.e., the 1st accused.
20. It can thus be clearly seen that there is no averment to the effect
that the present appellant is in-charge of and responsible for the
day-to-day affairs of the Company. It is also not the case of the
10 [2022] 14 SCR 573 : 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1383
660 [2024] 3 S.C.R.
Digital Supreme Court Reports
respondent that the appellant is either the Managing Director or the
Joint Managing Director of the Company.
21. It can thus clearly be seen that the averments made are not sufficient
to invoke the provisions of Section 141 of the N.I. Act qua the appellant.
22. In the result, we find that the present appeals deserve to be allowed.
It is ordered accordingly. The judgment and order passed by the
High Court dated 26th April, 2022 is quashed and set aside. The
proceedings in CC Nos. 3151 and 3150 of 2017 on the file of learned
XVIII Metropolitan Magistrate, Saidapet, Chennai (now transferred to
the learned Metropolitan Magistrate, Fast Track Court-III, Saidapet,
Chennai) in connection with the offence punishable under Section
138 read with Section 142 of the N.I. Act are quashed and set aside
qua the present appellant.
Headnotes prepared by: Ankit Gyan Result of the case:
Appeals allowed.
