Criminal proceedings not invokable against independent director U/s. 141 of NI Act

Satvinder Jeet Singh Sodhi Vs State of Maharashtra (Bombay High Court)

Held that an independent director, not in charge or not responsible for day to day conduct of the business, is not liable for offence by invoking section 141 of Negotiable Instrument Act.

Facts-

The issue involved is that the cheque issued by the accused was dishonored with the reasons ‘Funds insufficient’. Post various notices which were not claimed, complaint was filed for the offence punishable u/s 138 of Negotiable Instrument Act.

Accordingly, the present application was filed by both independent directors arrayed in the criminal complaint. The applicants claimed that they were not involved in the day-to-day functioning of the company and had no knowledge about the transaction.

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