Personal insolvency interim moratorium does not stay...

Personal insolvency interim moratorium does not stay cheque-dishonour prosecutions against company directors and responsible persons where the dishonoured cheques represent the company's debt. Directors are prosecuted through statutory vicarious liability rather than as primary personal debtors, while the moratorium applies to civil debt-recovery actions concerning the individual debtor and does not bar criminal proceedings. Potential recovery of compensation does not justify staying the trial at that stage. A pending reference to a larger Bench does not weaken the binding effect of existing law unless altered; therefore, trials need not await determination of questions concerning compensation. Applications and writ petitions seeking to stay or defer the prosecutions were dismissed, and interim stays were vacated.