Parliament passes bill which allows upto 2 years of imprisonment in cheque bounce case

Now if you do not have money in your bank account and despite this, you if you issue a cheque then be aware, because on Thursday the parliament passed a bill in which there is a provision for penalties in this case. Under this bill, the accused of a cheque bounce will have to deposit 20 percent of its amount in the court as interim compensation.

In the bill, there is a provision of punishment for cheque bounce cases for up to 2 years. In the event of a cheque bounce, the ‘Negotiable Instrument (Amendment) Bill, 2017 (Negotiable Instrument Amendment Bill)’, which provided further relief to the cheque receiver, was approved in the Rajya Sabha today after the approval in the Lok Sabha earlier.

Responding to the discussion on the Bill, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said that from time to time, the law has been amended and the need to do so would be further if needed. He said that this Amendment Bill has made provision that in the event of a cheque bounce, the accused will have to deposit 20% of the amount on the cheque in the court.

The bill provides that if the decision in the lower court comes against the accused and he appeals to the upper court, then he will have to deposit 20 percent of the total amount in the court. The Minister expressed the hope that due to this provision the cases of cheque bounce will be reduce and the burden of cheque bounce laws on the courts will be reduced.