IN RE EXPEDITIOUS TRIAL OF CASES UNDER SECTION 138 OF N.I. ACT 1881 Vs. IN RE EXPEDITIOUS TRIAL OF CASES UNDER SECTION 138 OF N.I. ACT 1881

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By a judgment of the Constitution Bench of this Court in Re: Expeditious Trial of Cases under Sec. 138 of N.I. Act, 1881[1] various directions were issued with respect to the conduct of trials of complaints under Sec. 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

(2.) This court by its subsequent order dtd. 31/3/2021 had required High Courts to file status reports indicating compliance with the directions contained in the judgment and as to whether rules were framed appropriately in line with the judgment. Similarly, the necessary amendments to the Police Manuals etc. had to be carried out. As on date, all High Courts except the Patna High Court have complied with the directions and proposed the amended Rules. In many states, amended rules have even been notified.

(3.) On 16/4/2021, by the said judgment of the Larger Bench, an expert Committee was constituted to consider various suggestions with respect to streamlining the procedure of arresting the judicial docket, in regard to complaints and trials for offences under the Negotiable Instruments Act. The Expert Committee, by its report has suggested the creation of de novo Special NI Courts by the Central Government vide its powers under Article 247 to tackle the problem of docket explosion. The Expert Committee proposed a scheme with two grades of judges at the trial court level and two at the appellate/revision stage. According to the Expert Committee's calculations, the establishment of these special NI Courts would require recruitment of 1,826 special judicial officers and a total cost of Rs.126.59 crores.