A Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde on Wednesday proposed a committee led by a former Bombay High Court judge to suggest ways to facilitate the early disposal of cheque dishonour cases clogging courts across the country.
The five-judge Bench suggested the name of Justice R.C. Chouhan during the hearing but agreed to keep its order in abeyance till Friday, giving Solicitor General Tushar Mehta time to come back with the names of senior officials from the departments of Financial Services, Justice, Corporate Affairs, Expenditure, Home Ministry and Reserve Bank of India who could be part of the committee.
The court suggested that Mr. Mehta or his nominee could also be part of the committee, which has to file a report of its findings before the apex court.
The committee has to consider the various submissions made before the Bench and recommendations of amici curiae — senior advocate Siddharth Luthra and advocate K. Parameshwar — to free the dockets of the courts from pending cheque bounce cases. These cases, the Bench noted, constitute 30% of the pendency.
The Bench said the purpose of the committee was to carefully work on constructive alterations or amendments in procedure or law to facilitate the early disposal of cheque cases. However, the committee, the court said, should take care to avert any possibility of these alterations turning into impediments themselves.
The court also said the government has, in principle, accepted its suggestion to set up additional courts to hear and decide cheque-related cases.
