Justice delayed as 1.2 lakh cheque bounce cases clog Dhaka courts

For the past seven years, Md Raihan Noman, the plaintiff in a case involving a dishonoured cheque worth Tk1.5 lakh, has appeared in court on every scheduled hearing date.

Yet, after each hearing, he returns home empty-handed, burdened with frustration as the trial drags on endlessly without disposal. He continues to wait for the next hearing date.

The prolonged trial process has left Noman deeply frustrated. In 2018, he filed the cheque dishonour case with the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court, hoping to recover his dues from the defendants quickly. But that never happened. 

"Instead, only time and money have been wasted. All I get are repeated hearing dates, one after another," Noman told The Business Standard.

He went on saying that the first two years were wasted at a magistrate court. Then, it took another year for the case to be transferred to the trial court. Currently, the case is being heard in the joint metropolitan sessions judge's court. 

"But here, there's an even bigger issue — I get only one hearing date per year. And often, on that date, either the accused is ill or the judge is on leave, not to mention other reasons for adjournments."

Over seven years, even the witness depositions have not been completed, Noman said, adding, "I don't know how much longer this will continue, or how much more patience I can muster. If things go on like this, one day I may have to give up hope of receiving justice."

According to court sources, cheque dishonour cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, are currently tried in eight Dhaka Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Courts. 

Together, these courts are currently handling over 120,000 pending cases, with each court managing roughly 15,000 to 17,000 cases. Approximately 200 to 250 cases are presented daily for hearings. Besides cheque dishonour cases, these courts also hear a variety of other cases.

At present, the backlog of pending cheque dishonour cases in the Dhaka Metropolitan Joint Sessions Courts is as follows— 16,690 cases in the 1st court, 14,866 in the 2nd, 17,269 in the 3rd, 13,844 in the 4th, 16,093 in the 5th, 17,206 in the 6th, and 14,889 in the 7th court. 

Additionally, the environment court has over 10,000 cheque dishonour cases pending.

These cases were gradually transferred from magistrate courts to joint metropolitan sessions judge's courts over the years. In the first half of this year alone, 12,000 new cases arrived from magistrate courts for trial.

However, the number of new cases coming each year far exceeds the number being resolved, causing the backlog to grow continuously.

Farhan Hossain, involved in a cheque dishonour case worth Tk5 lakh, told TBS that the trial in his case has been ongoing for nine years but it remains unresolved.

"There is no benefit in coming to court; instead, extra time and money are wasted. At the court, one faces various forms of harassment. Whenever the case reaches the final hearing, the accused finds new reasons to delay," he said.

Farhan noted that the court schedules only one hearing date per year. "That means if you want 10 hearing dates, you will have to wait 10 years."

"If the judicial system continues this way, there will be more harassment than justice," he lamented.

The overwhelming caseload

Speaking anonymously, an official from the Dhaka Metropolitan Joint Sessions Judge's Court-7 told TBS that his court currently has around 18,000 cheque-related cases, some dating back as far as 15 years.

"Due to the overwhelming caseload, getting even one hearing date within a year is difficult. Usually, a case gets a new date only after 10 to 11 months. The main reasons for these delays are an insufficient number of courts and inadequate staff," he explained.

Rehana Parvin, additional public prosecutor of the Dhaka Additional Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court-1, told TBS that before 2005, cheque-related cases were tried in magistrate courts. However, following a High Court directive in 2020, these cases were transferred to the joint district and sessions judge's courts.

"Since then, the number of cases has continued to rise, but the number of courts has not increased accordingly. This has led to a huge backlog. Even if unintentional, litigants are suffering because of this situation," she said.

Md Sachchu Mia, additional public prosecutor of the Dhaka Metropolitan Joint Sessions Judge's Court-5, echoed the same sentiment, saying, "Due to the high volume of cases and the shortage of courts, case backlogs are inevitable."

He warned that if the number of joint courts is not increased soon, the backlog will only worsen. He also urged the government to take effective measures to expedite case disposal.