In response to the overwhelming backlog of cheque bounce cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act, the Gujarat High Court has announced the establishment of four additional courts at the Apna Bazar Multi-storey Building near Lal Darwaja in Ahmedabad. These new courts will begin functioning from June 18.
Ahmedabad alone accounts for over 4 lakh pending cheque bounce cases, which is nearly 60% of all such cases in Gujarat. To address this backlog and expedite the resolution process, the High Court’s move is expected to bring significant relief to litigants.
Currently, 19 physical courts operate from the Apna Bazar premises, along with one online court. With the addition of the new courts, the total will rise to 24 courts—23 physical and one online—dedicated to handling cheque bounce matters.
Officials have noted a sharp rise in such cases in recent years, mainly due to the rapid increase in banks, financial institutions, lending agencies, housing societies, and jewellery firms, many of which are now the primary complainants in these legal proceedings. The result has been a surge in both cheque bounce and fraud-related litigation.
The Gujarat High Court believes that with proper infrastructure, staffing, and adherence to timelines, these additional courts can significantly reduce the pending case load. Many of the cases involve disputes over crores of rupees, and litigants have been waiting years for resolution.
The move is seen as a crucial step toward ensuring faster justice and better case management in one of the state’s most litigation-heavy categories.