Government withdraws Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: Government today withdrew a bill in Rajya Sabha on which an ordinance was issued last month to enable the people file cheque bounce cases in the place where it is presented for payment and not the place of issue.

The motion for withdrawal of the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to further amend it was tabled in the Upper House on July 21 and after the concurrence from Lok Sabha, it was finally withdrawn today.

Amid continuous din over the Lalit Modi controversy and the Vyapam scam, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved the motion to withdraw the bill, which was adopted by a voice vote.

The bill was passed by Lok Sabha on May 13 this year and tabled in the Rajya Sabha on the same day.

On June 10, the Union Cabinet had cleared an ordinance to further amend the Negotiable Instruments Act to enable filing of cheque bounce cases in the place where the cheque was presented for clearance or payment and not the place of issue.

There are an estimated 18 lakh people facing cheque bounce cases across the country.

The ordinance was necessitated as a bill to help the litigant in a cheque bounce case was passed by Lok Sabha earlier this year, but it could not be passed by the Upper House.