A cheque allegedly issued after a company's dissolution cannot...

A cheque allegedly issued after a company's dissolution cannot support a Section 138 prosecution because the company has already ceased to exist in law and the instrument is void ab initio. The complaint therefore failed on the threshold requirement of a legally enforceable cheque drawn by a subsisting juristic entity, and the Court distinguished cases where dissolution or liquidation occurs after issuance. Vicarious liability under Section 141 also could not be fastened on a former director, as the complaint contained no specific averment that he was in charge of the company's day-to-day affairs at the relevant time. The complaint and proceedings were quashed, with liberty to pursue other remedies in law.

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