Provisional liquidator appointment can defeat Section 138 liability where the director no longer controls the company's bank account.

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....Appointment of a Provisional Liquidator does not dissolve the company, but it displaces the board and renders directors functus officio, with control over assets and bank accounts shifting to the liquidator. In that setting, a director no longer has the legal or practical ability to operate the company's account or ensure compliance with a statutory demand under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. Because the Provisional Liquidator had been appointed before dishonour of the cheques and before issuance of the notice, the accused did not satisfy the essential ingredients of the offence. The complaint against him was therefore held not maintainable and the proceedings were quashed insofar as they related to him.....