Honorable Supreme Court has come up with the guidelines for speedy disposal of Cheque Bounce cases as a part of the judgment delivered by a Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Vikramajit Sen on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Indian Banks Association (IBA) represented by 174 banks and financial institutions.

Honorable Supreme Court in January 2014 has sought suggestions from the Centre and state governments to resolve the grave problem of over 40 lakh pending cheque bouncing cases, which slowed down the justice delivery system already over burdened by more than 2.7 crore cases. (TOI)

While earlier, in 2010, the Hon. SC had laid down guidelines for early settlement in cheque dishonour cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act. It had ruled that defaulters going for early settlement before the trial court would have to pay just the principal amount with applicable interest. The said Judgment can be read here.

IBA argued that time has come for the Supreme Court to issue effective guidelines to streamline the procedure for hastening disposal of cases of cheque bouncing instituted under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, which will not only render speedy justice in cheque dishonour cases but improve functioning of the justice delivery system as a whole. Therefore, various guidelines have been laid down as a part of judgment like…

• No need for complainant to record his statements in court more than once; affidavit can be filed.
• Summons to be issued to the accused on the same day the magistrate receives the complaint.
• Summons to be issued also through e-mails, besides normal post.
• Accused can offer a settlement the day he shows up in court and the magistrate shall dispose of the case.
• All evidence to be recorded within three months and verdict to be delivered shortly.
• Magistrate can receive affidavits from the witnesses too, dispensing their personal presence.

The complete judgment can be referred here @ http://www.chequebounce.com/2014/judgment-indian-bank-association-versus-union-of-india-pil-sc-wpc-no-18-of-2013-21-april-2014/

Rs 4 lakh fraud with vanishing ink

When Anindita Roy gave two cancelled cheques signed by her as a pre-condition to get a personal loan from a private bank, little did she realize that these cheques will be used to pump out all her savings of more than Rs 4 lakh. The man who posed as the agent of the bank had applied ‘volatile’ ink and erased the word ‘cancelled’ from the cheques.

The fraudster, Arijit Sen alias Sourav Ghosh, was arrested by the Kolkata Police detective department on Tuesday.

It was in November 2011 that Sen had approached Anindita and her husband Soutam Ghosh for a personal loan. After Anindita agreed to apply for the loan, she was asked to provide photocopies of her photo identity card, bank statement and three cheques — the documents required for a personal loan.

more @ http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-11/kolkata/40513276_1_cheques-private-bank-personal-loan

Raveena Tandon to file case against film festival organiser

Raveena Tandon Thadani, who was recently in Jaipur, has alleged that Hanuman Chaudhary alias Hanu Roj, the organizer of the Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF) didn’t pay for her tickets in time, and when she was given a cheque, it bounced.

Irked by this, the actress is planning to file a case against him. Accompanied by her director Sudipto Chattopadhyaya, Raveena attended the JIFF 2013 in February and a cheque was issued to her for her airfare. She attended the closing ceremony on February 3 as her film Shobhana 7 Nights was awarded in the Special Recognition category in the fest.

more @ http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-25/news-interviews/40772461_1_jaipur-international-film-festival-jiff-blank-cheque

Accused uses toilet exit to flee police custody

A 39-year-old man, who was booked in a cheque bouncing case by the KasturbaMarg police, slipped out of their custody on the pretext of going to a lavatory on Tuesday night. SantoshRane, the accused, was booked under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. He slipped out at Mira-Bhayander while being escorted to the Thane prison. A case, in connection with his escape, has been registered at the Kashimira police station by the KasturbaMarg cops.

Rane is a resident of Siddharth Nagar in Borivali East. The 17th metropolitan magistrate court at Borivali had issued a proclamation against him, following which the Kasturba Marg police tried to trace him earlier this year. When they failed to find him, the Kasturba Marg cops filed a report to that effect in the 17th court. Meanwhile, the Borivali police arrested Rane in a separate case of cheating. On learning of his arrest by the Borivali police, the Kasturba Marg cops obtained a transfer warrant for his custody.

more @ http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-25/mumbai/40792652_1_police-station-police-custody-two-cops

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Commissioner M.T. Krishna Babu has ordered booking of criminal cases against taxpayers whose cheques had bounced to the extent of Rs.10 crore in all.

At a meeting held with the additional, zonal and deputy commissioners in the head office on Wednesday, he also appealed to the citizens to make use of the voluntary self-assessment of property tax as the last date for availing the scheme had been extended up to August 31. Thus far, the civic body had received a very poor response on the self-assessment front with just 1,084 applications received.

He warned that three years of property tax penalty would be levied against those who were caught being out of the tax ambit. Senior officials were told to concentrate on cases where the tax arrears were pending for more than three years.

more @ http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/taxpayers-to-be-bookedfor-cheque-bounce-cases/article4949858.ece