The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed all states and union territories to file detailed status reports on the measures taken to expedite the disposal of cheque dishonour cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order while hearing a suo motu matter concerning the speedy trial of such cases, which form a significant portion of pending criminal litigation in the country.
The bench noted that despite earlier directions, including a pilot project for setting up special courts, clarity was needed on whether these measures had been effectively implemented. Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, assisting the court as amicus curiae, referred to the Supreme Court’s May 2022 order mandating the constitution of 25 special courts in five states—Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan—using retired judicial officers to deal exclusively with cheque bounce cases.
“We have to see whether the pilot project is working or not,” Luthra told the bench, while pointing out that he had filed an application seeking further directions.
The bench directed all states, union territories, and registrar generals of the high courts to provide status reports within six weeks, setting out:
- The steps taken to increase disposal of cases under Section 138 NI Act.
- Data relating to vacancies and appointments of judicial officers.
The matter has been listed after six weeks.
The May 2022 order had specified that each of the five high courts identify districts with the highest pendency and establish one special court in each. Retired judges and staff, preferably those who had demitted office within the past five years, were to be engaged for the pilot project, which was scheduled from September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2023.
These courts were tasked with adjudicating cases where summons had been served, and the accused had entered appearance. The apex court had also instructed that no vacancy be allowed to arise during this period.
Cheque bounce litigation has long been a burden on the justice system. On March 5, 2020, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the staggering pendency—over 35.16 lakh cheque bounce cases as of December 31, 2019, out of a total of 2.31 crore pending criminal cases nationwide.
The court had then issued a series of directions, including asking the Centre to amend laws to allow clubbing of trials in cases filed against the same person within a year relating to the same transaction.
