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Rakhi Randhir Aser vs. KEI Industries Ltd.

Criminal Miscellaneous Case · 2026:DHC:7409Decided 1 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
CRL.M.C. 9603/2024CNR: DLHC010893982024
Justice Manoj Jain

Background

The petitioner, a partner in the firm M/s R.D. Enterprises, sought quashing of a 2019 summoning order in a Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act complaint filed by KEI Industries Ltd., arguing she had no specific role in the firm's day-to-day affairs and was only an inactive partner.

Decision Breakdown

The complaint specifically alleged that both partners were in-charge of and responsible for the firm's day-to-day operations. The complainant produced a 2009 Deed of Reconstitution describing both the petitioner and her husband as "working partners" sharing profits 60:40, directly contradicting her claim of being inactive. The Court found her earlier submission of being an inactive partner was itself misleading, held there was no abuse of process warranting quashing, and dismissed the petition, though it left open her right to prove at trial that she was not actually involved in day-to-day affairs.

Lesson Learnt

A partner cannot escape a Section 138 NI Act summons merely by claiming inactivity if the partnership deed itself describes them as a working partner: such factual disputes must be resolved at trial, not through a quashing petition.

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