In a case of bounced cheques that has come up before the Supreme Court bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, it was found that the person sentenced to 18 months in jail for 30 different bounced cheque cases of a cooperative was actually an employee and not the beneficiary. He had signed the cheques in his capacity as treasurer.

The petitioner, Gulshan Dhall, was acquitted under section 420, because he is not a beneficiary, but just an employee.

The prayer before the court was that the sentence should run concurrently, as the petitioner would be incarcerated for life if the 18 months sentence in each case is executed consecutively.

The petitioner has been asked to furnish the details of the cooperative society and the matter has been listed after two weeks.

The top court had, earlier, directed the Registrars General of all the high courts to report about steps taken by high courts for speedy disposal of bounced cheque cases and also about the procedure of dealing such cases online.

– India Legal Bureau