SC sets norms in cheque bounce trial

The Supreme Court( SC) has eased the procedure of trial ind is honour ed cheques in view of such cases clogging criminal courts. It noted that 20 percent of the cases in the subordinate courts deal with bounced cheques. Therefore, it has laid down norms to speed up decisions and encourage compounding of offence sun der Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. These directions were made in last week’ s judgment in the case, Meters and Instruments vs Kanchan Mehta, which was an appeal from the Punjab and Ha ryan a High Court. The high court had refused to compound the offence alleged against the firm and insisted on personal appearance of the director of the firm. The issue was whether the proceedings could be closed when the accused was willing to deposit the cheque amount. In this case, though the firm offered the amount, the payee did not allow the offence to be compounded and wanted pen al action. The court appointed a team of lawyers to assist it in this matter. The court passed a five point order covering all cheque bounce cases. Among them: If the magistrate is satisfied that the drawer is willing to pay the amount, with interest and costs, the case maybe closed. If appropriate compensation is paid, com pounding must be encouraged and pen al aspects can be waived. Even if the payee is not willing to give consent to com pounding, the court may close the case and discharge the accused in the interest of justice.