Government Notifies New Norms to Deal With Cheque Bounce Cases

The government has notified the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which allows filing of cheque bounce cases in a court at the place where it was presented for clearance and not the place of issue.

The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was passed by Parliament in its recently-concluded winter session.

"The provisions of the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2015 shall be deemed to have come into force on the 15th Day of June, 2015, the day on which the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 was promulgated to further amend the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881," the Finance Ministry said.

There are an estimated 18 lakh cheque bounce cases across the country, of which about 38,000 are pending in high courts. Some litigants have to travel to different places from where the cheques were issued and not honoured