Cheque Bounce Case Can Lead To Big Penalty

A cheque bounce case can now lead to bigger penalties after the Indian Parliament passed ‘The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2018’ on July 23, 2018, allowing a court to try offences related to cheque bounce promptly and “direct the drawer to pay a minimum of 20% of the cheque amount as interim compensation.”

- Kuntala Sarkar

This bill has also been also passed by the Rajya Sabha. According to the statement of objects and reasons, the amendment was instigated “with a view to address the issue of undue delay in final resolution of cheque dishonour cases so as to provide relief to payees of dishonoured cheques and to discourage unnecessary litigation which would save time and money.” The most recent amendment inclined to insert Section 143A and Section 148 in the Act to afford that a court trying a cheque bou