In a suo moto petition, the Supreme court took up the period of limitation expiring under various laws that could possibly be hit due to the present COVID-19 situation across the country which had forced several parts of the country to come under lockdown.
When the question came on an extension of the three-month period of validity of cheques, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told the apex court that the same should not be done as it would impact banking activities.
The bench also accepted the central bank’s suggestion and kept the three-month validity period of cheque intact.
The RBI has a fixed validity period of cheque under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act. The court noted that all banking systems across the country follow this prescribed period and there is no need to interfere with the same.
In a suo moto petition, the court took up the period of limitation expiring under various laws that could possibly be hit due to the present COVID-19 situation across the country which had forced several parts of the country to come under lockdown. This prevented litigants from approaching the Court and physically filing cases.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde stated in its order, “We do not consider it appropriate to interfere with the period specified by the RBI (for the validity of cheque) as the entire banking system runs on the basis of the period specified.”
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