Courts in Ahmedabad roll out digital settlement in cheque bounce cases

Ahmedabad: In a move aimed at unclogging one of the city's most burdened dockets, the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) courts in Ahmedabad on Friday rolled out an online payment facility for cheque dishonour cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The first payment was processed the same day, and the matter was disposed of, formally marking the launch of the system in Gujarat.Court authorities said the initiative follows directions issued by the Supreme Court in Sanjabij Tari v/s Kishore S Borcar. In that ruling, the apex court directed all district courts to offer accused persons, at the stage of summons itself, an option to deposit the cheque amount online. The objective is to encourage early settlement and reduce prolonged litigation in cheque bounce cases.Under the new mechanism, an accused can deposit the cheque amount directly into the court's designated bank account through SBI Collect. Once the payment is made, the court can verify the transaction instantly through the bank's digital interface and proceed to pass orders for compounding and disposal, if the parties agree.The reform comes at a time when courts in Ahmedabad designated to handle cheque return matters are grappling with more than 4 lakh pending cases. Every month, an additional 10,000 to 15,000 new cases are being filed, adding to the backlog. Judicial officers expect the online payment option to facilitate faster resolution in cases where the dispute is purely financial and amenable to settlement.