. In the case of cheque bounce, the Supreme Court has set an important legal precedent and ruled that not only the principal amount of the bounced cheque but also the interest of that period should be paid to the victim. A division bench of Justices Kumar Regmi {TAG_OPEN_span_6 TAG_CLOSE_span_6}} andTAG_OPEN_span_5 Bal Krishna Dhakal{ issued the order by reversing the High Court’s verdict.
Lawyers say the verdict will be an important guide for the future in cheque bounce cases.TAG_OPEN_p_11 The court interpreted the failure of the victim to use his money for a long period of time due to the cheque bounce as a financial loss and concluded that merely returning the principal amount would not be a complete guarantee of justice.
During the hearing of the case, the party issuing the cheque could not be exchanged as there was not enough money in the bank account. The victim then approached the court seeking legal remedy.
Prior to this, the High Court Patan had decided to return only the amount mentioned in the cheque.TAG_OPEN_p_9 However, the victim’s family had appealed to the Supreme Court arguing that they were financially affected from the date of the cheque bounce and that they had to suffer further losses as they could not use the money.
The Supreme Court, while hearing the appeal, upheld the claim of the victim.TAG_OPEN_p_8 The court ruled that the financial impact of the cheque bounce should be compensated through interest as the victim could not use the money for a long time.
The Supreme Court has described cheques as an important means of trust in business and financial transactions.TAG_OPEN_p_7 The court held that if a cheque issued by a person could not be paid while presenting it to the bank, it would have a direct impact on the financial rights of the recipient.
