Supreme Court’s Big Decision On Bounced Cheque Cases: Orders Centre To Issue Guidelines

In order to ensure speedy disposal of cheque bounce cases , the apex court today came out with a slew of directions. It has demanded the Centre to amend laws to ensure clubbing of trials in cases which are lodged within one year against a person relating to the same transaction.

Directions To All High Courts To Issue Guidelines

All the high courts across India have been directed by the Supreme court to issue guidelines trial courts to deal with cheque bounce cases.

Evidence in cheque dishonour cases can now be tendered by filing affidavits said the a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde. He added that there would be no need to examine witnesses physically.

“Suitable amendments” in the Negotiable Instruments Act to ensure that trials in cheque bounce cases lodged in 12 months against a person can be clubbed together into one consolidated case have been asked by the bench, also comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai, A S Bopanna and S Ravindra Bhat to be made by the Centre.

It reiterated the earlier decision that trial courts have no “inherent power” to reconsider their decisions to summon persons to face trials in the cheque bounce cases.

A Committee Formed To Deal With This

A committee headed by Justice R C Chavan, former judge of the Bombay High Court would be taking up the issues which have not been dealt by apex court, said the apex court.

A committee was constituted by the top court on March 10. The court has given a time of three months to the committee to submit the report specifying the steps to be taken for early disposal of cheque bounce cases across the country. The suo motu matter on ensuring early disposal of cheque bounce cases after eight weeks would be taken up by a three-judge bench.

Over 35 lakhs cheque bounce cases were pending and hence terming it as “grotesque”, it suggested to the Centre to come up with a law to create additional courts for a particular period of time to deal with such cases. A decision to evolve a “concerted” and “coordinated” mechanism for expeditious disposal of such cases was made, post a suo motu case was registered by the top court.