Harassment alleged thru misuse of cheque law

A Khulna resident, Sachindra Nath Shil has alleged widespread misuse of Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act, claiming that lenders are filing fraudulent cheque dishonour cases by filling in arbitrary amounts on blank cheques taken as security for loans. 

He urged the government to amend the law and appealed to the Prime Minister to intervene.
Speaking at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) on Thursday, Sachindra alleged that his wife, Jyotsna Sarkar, borrowed money on interest from several individuals during 2013-14 for family needs without his knowledge. Mounting interest forced her to take additional loans from multiple lenders.

Shil said he lodged a General Diary (GD) in 2019 and submitted written complaints to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and other authorities after learning of the matter. Despite repaying around Tk 5 million, several lenders retained blank cheques that had been provided as security and later filled in inflated amounts before filing cases under Section 138 of the NI Act, he claimed.

The victim named several individuals, including Jamal Uddin, Aminul Islam, Shahidul Kadir, Miss Lily, Sultana Yasmin and Bishoka Rani Kundu, alleging that although disputes with some lenders had been settled through discussion, others continued to pursue what he described as “harassment cases” using the blank cheques.

Shil further claimed that separate cases have been filed against his wife seeking amounts ranging from Tk 850,000 to Tk 3.5 million. He questioned the legitimacy of the alleged cash loans, arguing that the complainants had failed to produce evidence of the legal source of funds, income tax records or written loan agreements.

He also said he had sought remedies from various government agencies and later filed a writ petition before the High Court, which he claimed directed the relevant authorities to dispose of his complaints. However, he alleged that no effective action has yet been taken.

Shil called for amendments to Section 138 of the NI Act, mandatory verification of the legal source of disputed funds in cheque-related cases, and stronger safeguards against alleged misuse of the law.

The allegations could not be independently verified, and immediate comments from those accused were not available.