Delhi HC seeks RBI’s reply on expired cheque due to covid-19

The case of the petitioner was that he is aggrieved by the act of bank in refusing to honour a cheque dated 16 January 2020 for an amount of Rs.10 lakhs on the ground of instrument being staled

NEW DELHI : The Delhi High court on Friday sought response from Reserve Bank of India over expiry of a cheque on account of the bank being sealed by the Delhi administration on account of Covid-19 pandemic.

The case of the petitioner was that he is aggrieved by the act of bank in refusing to honour a cheque dated 16 January 2020 for an amount of Rs.10 lakhs on the ground of instrument being staled.

The instrument/cheque was deposited for presentation on 8 April 2020 during validity of the cheque. The cheque was to expire on 16 April. The branch of HDFC bank where the cheque was deposited was sealed by the District Administration on account of the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic. There was a delay on the part of the bank in presenting the cheque to the clearing house.

On 18 April. an e-mail was received by the petitioner from the bank stating that the cheque had been returned with the remark ‘instrument stale’. The plea of the petitioner is that he had deposited the cheque within the statutory period and cannot now be penalised on account of the inability of the bank in question to present the cheque on time.

The court will now hear the matter on 30 June.

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