Lok Sabha passes bill to amend Negotiable Instruments Act

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill to amend the Negotiable Instruments Act, relating to promissory notes, bills of exchange and cheques and prescribing penalties for their misuse such as bouncing of cheques.

The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015, introduced in the lower house of parliament on May 6, amends the act to now provide that cases of bouncing of cheques can be filed only in a court in whose jurisdiction the bank branch of the payee (person who receives the cheque) lies.

If a complaint against a person issuing a cheque has been filed in the court with the appropriate jurisdiction, then all subsequent complaints against that person will be filed in the same court, irrespective of the relevant jurisdiction area.

Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said the amendment was an attempt to make financial transactions easy and strengthen contracts made between people.

"Our judiciary is flooded with cases of cheque bouncing. Now the Supreme Court has ruled that you have to file cases where the cheques have actually bounced. This is creating problems," he said.