Cheque dishonour liability remains confined to the drawer; a non-signatory joint account holder cannot be prosecuted absent statutory deeming grounds.

Liability for cheque dishonour attaches to the drawer of the cheque under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, and penal provisions must be strictly construed. A co-holder of a joint bank account is not liable merely because of the joint account or a marital relationship where she neither signed nor issued the cheque and had no direct dealings with the complainant. Section 141 creates only limited deeming liability in the specific situations it contemplates, such as where the offender is a company and the person is in charge of its affairs. On these principles, prosecution could not be maintained against the non-signatory joint account holder.

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Issues: Whether a co-holder of a joint bank account, who was not the signatory or drawer of the cheque, can be prosecuted for dishonour of cheque under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and whether such liability can be fastened under Section 141 of that Act.

Analysis: Liability under Section 138 attaches to the drawer of the cheque, i.e. the person who makes the cheque and on whose account it is dishonoured. The offence is created in respect of "such person" and penal provisions must be strictly construed. Mere existence of a joint account or marital relationship does not, by itself, make the other joint account holder liable when she neither issued the cheque nor had dealings with the complainant. Section 141 creates a specific deeming liability only in the contingencies contemplated therein, such as where the offender is a company and the person sought to be made liable is in charge of its affairs.

Conclusion: The petitioner, not being the drawer or signatory of the cheque, could not be proceeded against under Section 138, and no liability could be fastened on her under Section 141.

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