Dear sir
what is the status of cases already filed under section 138 of the NI Act which are pending at various stages in the courts with the amendment of NI Act which amended on 2nd
August ,2018
I think the amendment may be applicable to the filing cases on or after 2.08.2018
Kindly advice on this.
whether the amendment is prospective or retrospective. Kindly advice on this.
The essence of the amended provisions which is drawn towards faster disposal may come out as a boon to the present system. Although the applicability of the amended provisions - whether prospective or retrospective, is not categorically specified, yet it appears that the nature of the same are more procedural in nature, considering the fact that the existing rights, obligations, duties of either party existing at the time of commission of offence, is not altered or effected vide the amended provisions. With the settled position that procedural laws are retrospective in nature unless otherwise intended or specified, the amended provisions, which essentially intends to boost the present manner of implementation of the existing rights and duties of the parties at the time of commission of offence, would also have retrospective application. Considering such a view, the pending litigations in addition to the future ones may also get an impetus and a wave of relief to the genuine party.
To sum up, we can say that although the Amendment Act is not without challenges yet it largely appears to cater to its objective of expediting the disposal of cases and also bringing wave of relief to the genuine holder of bounced cheques.
