Cheque dishonour liability requires drawer status; a non-signatory joint account holder cannot face prosecution under Section 138.

For an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, prosecution lies against the drawer and signatory of the cheque, because the cheque must be drawn by the person sought to be prosecuted on an account maintained by that person. Section 141 provides limited vicarious liability for offences by companies and similar juristic entities, but it cannot be extended to two private individuals merely because they maintain a joint account or share a joint debt. A non-signatory joint account holder without a specific role could not be proceeded against under Section 138, and the summoning order was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether a joint account holder who is not a signatory to the dishonoured cheque can be prosecuted under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and whether Section 141 of that Act can fasten liability on an individual in such a case.

Analysis: Liability under Section 138 attaches to the drawer of the cheque, and the statutory ingredients require that the cheque be drawn by the person sought to be prosecuted on an account maintained by that person. Section 141 creates a limited vicarious liability for offences committed by companies and similar juristic entities, and its reach cannot be extended to two private individuals merely because they maintain a joint account or are jointly liable for a debt. The material showed that the cheques were drawn from a joint account but signed only by the co-accused, while no specific role was attributed to the applicant beyond an alleged joint obligation to repay the loan.

Conclusion: The applicant, not being the signatory or drawer of the cheques, could not be prosecuted under Section 138, and the summoning order against her was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The criminal proceedings were quashed insofar as they related to the applicant, while the case against the co-accused was left to continue in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: For an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, prosecution lies only against the drawer and signatory of the cheque, and Section 141 cannot be invoked to impose vicarious criminal liability on a non-signatory individual merely because the cheque was issued from a joint account or the debt was jointly owed.

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