Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015

The Rajya Sabha passed the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015,

•  The bill seeks to make the resolution of cheque bounce cases a speedier and less inconvenient affair.
• It introduces an amendment that allows the filing of cheque bounce cases in the place where the cheque was deposited and not where it was issued, as the earlier rule stipulated.
• The Amendment Bill states that the offence under section 138 [which delineates what constitutes cheque bouncing] shall be inquired into and tried only by a court within whose local jurisdiction the bank branch of the payee, where the payee presents the cheque for payment, is situated
• This makes it easier to file a case as the payee (the person depositing the cheque) will not need to travel to the place of issue.
• There are reportedly an estimated 18 lakh cases in the country, 38,000 of which are pending in High Courts.
• The Bill was passed with no debate.
• The amendment, was passed by the Lok Sabha in the Monsoon Session,