Common Law

  The aforesaid issue has been cursed with consistent unpredictable decisions of the Apex Court and High Courts; and the law deserves to be set at peace with utmost clarity, may be by Constitution Bench.   What is the mandate of S.141:  Section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act creates vicarious criminal liability upon persons, including the directors of the Company, who, when the offence was committed, were “in-charge of and were responsible to the accused Company for the conduct of the business of the Company”.   The Apex Court inconsistent Rulings:  The Apex Court in its various inconsistent rulings have held that the directors of the Company may be called upon to face criminal prosecution, on the basis of “bare averments” in complaint that “when the offence was committed, the concerned person was a director and was in-charge of and was responsible to the Company for the conduct of the business of the Company”. [AIR 2015 SC 1072, AIR 2016 SC 1...

……we must be mindful of the exact suggestion, which we seeks to convey or, at least canvass, in the factual matrix of our case. What do we mean by “I rely on this Judgment”: When we rely on any Court ruling, what we really say is “this is the law of the land, being declared by the Apex Court or the High Courts, and this is the course of action which the Courts, Tribunal, Govts, Administration and every Individual, must adopt in a given set of facts and circumstances. And we tell the concerned, Please look,  there is a judgment of High Court / Apex Court, which had dealt with the provision of law / proposition of law, to which we are concerned in the instant case also;   The said High Court / Apex Court had interpreted the law / proposition of law, and have held that …… The birth of a Judgment / Precedent: Every provision of law guides / mandates / directs the concerned to behave or conduct itself or to adopt certain or set course of actions which must or prefe...