Negotiable Instruments Act: A Fading Commercial Law in India
मुख्य बातें
- •Only 18 cases were registered under the Negotiable Instruments Act in 2024, all pertaining to cheque bounce.
- •The Act mainly covers three financial instruments: promissory notes, bills of exchange, and cheques.
- •Section 138 of the Act deals with the cheque bounce clause, which states that the bouncing of a cheque is a criminal offence.
- •The punishment under the Act is up to two years of imprisonment, a fine of up to twice the cheque amount, or both.
- •The low number of cases under the Act raises questions about its relevance in today's financial landscape.
The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, is a landmark legislation in India that regulates and defines negotiable instruments used for making and receiving payments in trade or commerce. Despite being one of the oldest commercial laws in the country, the Act seems to be fading into irrelevance, according to the recent data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2024. The NCRB data reveals that only 18 cases were registered under the Act nationwide, all pertaining to cheque bounce, and spread across only two states, Jharkhand (10 cases) and Uttar Pradesh (8 cases).
