Vicarious liability under Section 141 NI Act was examined where...

Vicarious liability under Section 141 NI Act was examined where the accused director claimed to have resigned before dishonour of the cheques and sought quashing. The complaints contained basic averments that the accused was in charge of and responsible for the companies' business at the relevant time, and he was also the signatory to the cheques, attracting presumptions under Sections 118 and 139 NI Act. Applying the "unimpeachable and incontrovertible material" standard, the resignation and corporate filings were held insufficient to conclusively negate involvement; the accused's inconsistent stand and fact-intensive questions required trial. The request to interdict proceedings under Section 528 BNSS was rejected and the prosecution was allowed to continue. - HC