Lower courts told to return cases outside their jurisdiction

The Delhi High Court has directed Metropolitan Magistrates in the Capital who are dealing with cheque bounce cases to return the cases in which they have taken cognizance without having territorial jurisdiction to entertain them.

The court order was made in connection with a PIL filed by Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) which said Magistrates dealing these cases were not able to dispose off any as they were flooded with cheque bounce complaints mostly filed by banks and financial institutions even though the “cause of action” and the accused persons were outside Delhi.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Manmohan said,“We direct return to the complainants for presentation in the court of competent jurisdiction all those criminal complaints filed under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act that are pending in court of Metropolitan Magistrates in Delhi in which cognizance has been taken by them without actually having.”