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The High Court has ruled that magistrate courts will have jurisdiction to hear cheque dishonour cases involving amounts of Tk 500,000 or less, while cases involving amounts exceeding Tk 500,000 will fall under the jurisdiction of joint district judge courts.
Lawyer Mahmudul Arefin Swapan confirmed the verdict on Monday.
A High Court bench comprising Justice KM Zahid Sarwar and Justice Md Zakir Hossain delivered the judgment.
Swapan said the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, was amended on April 10 to redefine the jurisdiction of courts in cheque dishonour cases.
Under the amended provision, magistrate courts are authorised to try cases involving cheques worth up to Tk 500,000, while joint district judge courts will hear cases involving larger amounts.
However, the amended provision was not being implemented in courts even after the changes came into effect, he said.
The lawyer said a cheque dishonour case involving Tk 186,000 was being tried at a joint district judge court in Joypurhat, despite the amended law assigning such cases to magistrate courts.
On October 28, he filed a petition with the relevant High Court bench under Section 561A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, challenging the inconsistency between the ongoing trial and the amended law.
The case was scheduled for judgment on October 29, when the High Court issued a brief order. Following further hearings, the court later disposed of the rule and delivered its verdict.
In its judgment, the High Court made it clear that magistrate courts have exclusive jurisdiction to try cheque dishonour cases involving Tk 500,000 or less under the amended law.
Consequently, joint district judge courts no longer have jurisdiction to continue hearing such cases currently pending before them.