Supreme Court Introduces New Rules to Speed Up Cheque Bounce Cases

With the cheque bounce cases making up around half of all pending cases in some states, the Supreme Court has now introduced new steps to clear them faster. These include sending court summons through WhatsApp and email, and allowing people to clear cases using QR codes or UPI payment links.

The Supreme Court has directed that summons in cheque bounce cases should be sent both by dasti by the complainant and online through email or WhatsApp. Complainants must also give the accused person’s contact details. Additionally, district courts have been directed to set up online payment options to allow early settlement of cases.

The Supreme Court has raised concerns over the staggered cheque bounce cases. Justices Manmohan and N V Anjaria observed that up to December, there were around 43 lakh such cases pending across India. Rajasthan was the first one on the list with over 6.4 lakh cases of cheque bounces. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal were after Rajasthan. Additionally, as of September 1, Delhi had 6,50,283 pending cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, while Mumbai had 1,17,190 and Kolkata had 2,65,985.