Crl.A. No. 001719 - 001725 / 2013

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Under Section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, vicarious liability of a Director for a company's dishonoured cheque cannot be fastened merely on account of their directorial position; the complaint must contain a specific averment that the accused was *in charge of* and *responsible for the conduct of the business* of the company at the time the offence was committed. As analysed on casestatus.in, being consulted by decision-making directors does not satisfy this essential threshold. Vicarious liability must be pleaded with requisite particularity and cannot be inferred from general allegations of involvement in company affairs.