Appellate Division stays HC order barring banks to file cheque dishonour case

The Appellate Division on Thursday stayed the High Court order that barred banks and financial institutions from filing any case against any person over cheque dishonour.

A five-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Hasan Foyez Siddiqui passed the order following a petition filed by Brac Bank.

The Appellate Division stayed the HC order for two months.

On November 23, HC ordered that banks and financial institutions will not be allowed to file any case against any person over cheque dishonour.

At the same time, the court ordered stopping the proceedings of all check dishonour cases pending in the trial court.

However, a case can be filed in the Money Loan Court only under the Money Loan Act of 2003 for loan recovery, the HC said.

HC also instructed the lower courts to dismiss of the cheque dishonour cases filed by any banks or financial institutions and send those to the Money Loan court.

Brac Bank authorities filed a petition with the Appellate Division seeking stay on the HC order.

On November 28, Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division M Enayetur Rahim sent the petition for hearing in the full bench without staying the HC order.

On June 20 in 2016, Mohammad Ali, a small businessman of Brahmanbaria, was sentenced to six-month imprisonment and fined Tk 2.95 lakh in a cheque dishonour case.

On July 27 in 2015, Brac Bank filed the cheque dishonour case against Mohammad Ali.

Ali appealed to the HC against the judgement.

The HC relieved him of the imprisonment and ordered him to pay back 50 percent of the loan within the next 10 days, said his counsel Advocate Abdullah Al Baki.