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Over 33 lakh cheque bounce cases pending, SC to set up special courts
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SME Times News Bureau | 20 May, 2022
Against the backdrop of more than 33 lakh cheque bounce cases which
burdens the judicial docket, the Supreme Court on Thursday gave green
signal to a pilot study to set up special courts headed by retired
judicial officers exclusively to deal with these cases.
A
bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao, B.R. Gavai and S. Ravindra Bhat
said: "The pilot study shall be conducted for a duration of 1 year from
September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2023. The pilot study shall be conducted
in 25 special courts in total. One special court shall be established
in each of the 5 judicial districts which have been identified as having
the highest pendency by each of the five High Courts of the states,
with the highest pendency of NI Act cases."
The 25 special courts
would come up in five districts of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh where the pendency of the cheque bounce cases
is the highest. The bench said it would take a further call to expand it
across the country after evaluating their one-year performance.
"For
operationalising the special courts under this pilot study, retired
judicial officers and retired court staff, preferably those who have
retired within the past 5 years, may be employed. The concerned High
Court shall ensure that no vacancy arises, during this period," the
bench added.
It said the special courts would adjudicate upon
only those cases in which summons have been duly served and the accused
has entered appearance through a lawyer or in person. "The oldest
pending cases in which service of summons is complete must be identified
in a chronological manner (oldest first). It must be ensured that no
case where service of summons is incomplete is sent to the special
courts," the bench added.
"The special courts set up for the
pilot study shall follow the same procedure with respect to trial as
mandated by the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. In order to ensure speedy
disposal of cases, adjournments should not be routinely given,
especially on the ground of lack of notice. Further examination of
outstation witnesses may be conducted online by following appropriate
protocol so that the delay in trial due to commute of the witnesses is
avoided."
The bench said that its Secretary General would ensure
that a copy of the present order is directly communicated to the
Registrars General of the above five high courts, who would place it
before the Chief Justice for immediate action. "To report progress and
compliance, each of the said five High Courts shall file an affidavit on
or before July 21, 2022. List on July 26, 2022 to review the further
proceeding," it added.
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