Cheque dishonour liability under the NI Act cannot be fastened on a bank that merely maintained the account.

Under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, criminal liability ordinarily attaches to the drawer of the cheque, not to a bank that merely maintains the account and acts on customer instructions. Section 141 extends liability only in recognised cases involving companies or firms and persons responsible for them; it does not, on these facts, justify proceeding against the bank as a co-accused. The summoning order was therefore unsustainable for lack of legal basis against the bank, and the complaint could continue only against the drawer in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the bank, impleaded as a co-accused in a complaint under Section 138 read with Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, could be proceeded against when the cheque was allegedly issued and dishonoured by the drawer alone, and whether the summoning order warranted quashing under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: Liability for an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 attaches to the person who draws the cheque on an account maintained by him and whose cheque is returned unpaid. The statutory scheme contemplates the drawer's liability, while Section 141 extends culpability only in cases involving companies or firms and their responsible persons. A bank that merely maintains the account and acts on the customer's instructions has no role in the issuance of the cheque or the alleged dishonour, and cannot be fastened with criminal liability for the customer's default. The order issuing process must also reflect due application of mind to the allegations and the law applicable to the proposed accused.

Conclusion: The bank could not be prosecuted on the facts pleaded, and the order summoning it was unsustainable. The proceedings against the bank were quashed.

Final Conclusion: Criminal process was held to be wrongly issued against the bank, while the complaint was left to proceed against the drawer of the cheque in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: For an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, criminal liability generally lies only against the drawer of the cheque, and a bank that merely maintains the account cannot be made an accused absent a legally recognised basis for fastening liability.

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