SOURCE :Hetal Vyas, TNN, Sep 9, 2010, 01.53am IST
MUMBAI: Alarmed by the high pendency of bounced cheque cases in Maharashtra, the Bombay high court on Wednesday set up a three-member panel to suggest ways for speedy disposal of such cases.
A total of 7.12 lakh bounced cheque cases are pending across the state. Of these, 3.17 lakh are pending in various metropolitan courts in Mumbai alone.
The committee— comprising director of prosecution, registrar (legal), and chief metropolitan magistrate of Mumbai—has been asked to study the reasons for the high pendency and submit its report within four weeks.
A division bench of Justice B H Marlapalle and Justice Amjad Sayed, while hearing a public interest litigation by the Nashik District Industrial & Mercantile Co-op Bank Ltd, has asked the state government to set up 15 special courts to deal with bounced cheque cases. The judges were quick to add that creation of new posts alone cannot solve the problem. "Till the time the state sets up 15 new courts, the committee constituted by us will look into the problems and offer helpful suggestions," observed the judges.
Talking about poor infrastructure in the metropolis, Justice Marlapalle remarked, "Where is the place to accommodate more judges in Mumbai? The real problem is the lack of time-bound disposal of cases."
Representing the state, advocate- general Ravi Kadam and advocate Anand Patil told the court that the government has taken a serious view of the situation and is working on various solutions. "We increased the court fees for filing complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (which deals with dishonoured cheques) but that did not help. As all major financial institutions are based out of Mumbai, most of the cases are filed in city courts," Kadam said.
Suryakant Shinde, solicitor-cum-joint secretary (law and judiciary department), in his affidavit stated that a huge number of cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act are instituted afresh each year. "This is why there's such a high pendency," Shinde stated in his affidavit. "It is pertinent to note that the courts dealing with cases of dishonoured cheques are effectively disposing of a big chunk every year."
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