For dishonoured cheques — recover your money under Section 138 of the NI Act. A mandatory first step before filing a criminal complaint.
Magistrate's court where cheque was presented for payment — Section 142(2) NI Act.
Complaint before Magistrate within 1 month of cause of action (failure to pay within 15 days of demand notice).
This coverage is provided by a practicing advocate. Specific sections cited depend on the facts you provide during drafting.
A cheque bounce legal notice is a formal written demand sent by the payee to the drawer when a cheque is dishonoured by the bank due to insufficient funds, account closure, or a stop-payment instruction. It is a statutory prerequisite under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 — without sending this notice within 30 days of receiving the bank's return memo, you cannot file a criminal complaint.
Send this notice immediately after your bank returns the cheque unpaid and issues a memo. You must dispatch it within 30 days of receiving the return memo. If the drawer fails to make payment within 15 days of receiving your notice, you gain the right to file a complaint before the Magistrate. Do not delay — the 30-day window is strict and missing it extinguishes your right to criminal action under Section 138.
The primary statute is Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, which makes dishonour of a cheque a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment up to 2 years or a fine up to twice the cheque amount, or both. Section 141 extends liability to companies and their directors. Section 142 governs cognizance and mandates that a complaint be filed within 1 month of the cause of action (i.e., 15 days after the legal notice is served without payment). The Supreme Court in Meters and Instruments Pvt. Ltd. v. Kanchan Mehta (2018) confirmed that compounding is permissible at any stage.
If the drawer ignores this notice and does not pay within 15 days, you can file a criminal complaint under Section 138/142 NI Act before the Judicial Magistrate First Class in whose jurisdiction the cheque was presented. Conviction can result in imprisonment up to 2 years and/or a fine up to twice the cheque amount. A civil suit for money recovery can also be filed simultaneously. Courts have consistently granted interim stays on accused's assets in serious cases.
You must send the legal notice within 30 days of receiving the bank's return memo (dishonour memo). This is a mandatory prerequisite. Missing this window means you cannot proceed under Section 138 NI Act.
The drawer has 15 days from the date of receiving your legal notice to make the full payment. If payment is not made within this period, you can file a criminal complaint before the Magistrate.
No. The legal notice must be sent via registered post (RPAD) or speed post to the drawer's last known address. Email or WhatsApp alone is not accepted by courts as valid service under Section 138 NI Act.
Under Section 27 of the General Clauses Act, service is presumed when the notice is sent by registered post to the last known address. You are not required to prove actual receipt — sending it is sufficient to trigger the 15-day period.
Yes. A criminal complaint under Section 138 NI Act and a civil suit for recovery of the cheque amount can be pursued simultaneously. Courts allow both proceedings to continue in parallel.
You need: the original dishonoured cheque, the bank's return memo/memo of dishonour, any loan agreement or invoice that explains why the cheque was issued, and the drawer's correct address for service.
Yes. A company (through its authorised representative) can send a cheque bounce legal notice. Similarly, if the drawer is a company, its directors and the company itself can be made liable under Section 141 NI Act.
If full payment is received within 15 days of the notice, the matter is settled and no criminal complaint can be filed. If partial payment is made, you can still file a complaint for the unpaid balance after the 15-day period expires.
Please confirm all of the following before proceeding with your Cheque Bounce notice:
Please confirm all eligibility conditions above to proceed. If you are unsure about any point, you may not be eligible for this type of notice.