A cheque given to you has bounced. Under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, a legal notice within 30 days is not optional, it is the mandatory first step, and missing it destroys your criminal remedy. We draft and serve a watertight notice within 24 to 48 hours, on the exact statutory timeline. Fixed fee from ₹2,999.
Share the bounced cheque, the bank’s cheque-return memo, and the reason for the dishonour. An advocate will confirm your deadline, compute what you can claim, and draft and serve a Section 138 notice that meets every statutory requirement, because a defective or late notice can sink an otherwise winning case.
When someone gives you a cheque and it is returned unpaid, marked “insufficient funds,” “account closed,” or “exceeds arrangement,” the law treats it seriously. Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 makes dishonour of a cheque for a legally enforceable debt a criminal offence, punishable with imprisonment up to two years, a fine up to twice the cheque amount, or both.
But there is a catch that catches thousands of people every year: you cannot go straight to court. The law requires you to first send a formal legal notice to the drawer, within 30 days of the bank’s return memo, demanding payment. Only if they fail to pay within 15 days of that notice does the offence crystallise and your right to file a complaint arise. Miss the 30-day notice window, or send a defective notice, and the criminal remedy under Section 138 is lost, permanently, no matter how genuine your claim.
A legal notice for cheque bounce is therefore not a formality. It is the single most important, and most time-sensitive, step in the entire process. This page explains exactly how Section 138 works, the strict timeline you must follow, what the notice must contain, a free sample format, and how we draft and serve it correctly. If a cheque has bounced, send us the details now, the clock does not wait.
Cheque bounce is one of the few areas of law where the calendar is as important as the merits. Every step has a strict, non-extendable deadline, and missing any one of them can end your case. This is the sequence, and it must be followed exactly.
The cheque must be presented to the bank within its validity period, which is three months from the date on the cheque. A cheque presented after it has expired cannot found a Section 138 case.
When the cheque is dishonoured, the bank issues a cheque-return memo stating the reason (insufficient funds, account closed, and so on). This memo is critical evidence and the date on it starts your notice clock.
You must send a written legal notice to the drawer within 30 days of receiving the return memo, demanding payment of the cheque amount. This deadline is absolute. Miss it and the Section 138 criminal remedy is gone.
The drawer gets 15 days from receiving the notice to pay. If they pay, the matter ends. If they do not, the offence is complete, and you must file your complaint before the Magistrate within 30 days of the end of that 15-day period. Filing even one day before the 15 days expire makes the complaint premature and liable to be dismissed, as the Supreme Court confirmed in Yogendra Pratap Singh v. Savitri Pandey (2014).
Cheque dishonour is governed by the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. Importantly, this remains intact after the 2024 criminal-law overhaul, the offence is still under Section 138 of the NI Act, not the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, so anyone citing a new BNS section for cheque bounce is mistaken.
Creates the offence of dishonour of a cheque issued for the discharge of a legally enforceable debt or liability, with punishment of imprisonment up to two years, a fine up to twice the cheque amount, or both. You can read the Act on the Government’s official portal, India Code.
Once you show the cheque was signed and issued by the drawer and was dishonoured, the law presumes it was given for a legally enforceable debt. The burden then shifts to the drawer to prove otherwise. The Supreme Court affirmed this powerful presumption in Rangappa v. Sri Mohan (2010). This is what makes Section 138 so effective for the payee.
The complaint must be filed by the payee within the prescribed time, and after the 2015 amendment, jurisdiction lies with the court where the payee’s bank branch (the branch where the cheque was presented) is located, which is convenient for you, not the drawer.
Introduced by the 2018 amendment, this lets the court order the drawer to pay you interim compensation of up to 20% of the cheque amount even while the trial is ongoing, payable within 60 days. It is a real financial lever, and one many complainants forget to ask for early.
If a convicted drawer appeals, the appellate court can require them to deposit a minimum of 20% of the fine or compensation, discouraging appeals filed only to delay.
Below is a verified sample format so you can see what a Section 138 notice must contain. It is a general template for educational use, not legal advice, a real notice must be tailored to your cheque, dates, and the underlying debt, and a single defect (a wrong date, an unclear demand, service to the wrong address) can make it invalid and cost you the case. If you want it done right and served on time, send us the details.
By Registered Post A.D. / Speed Post & Email
Date: _______________
To,
[Full name of the drawer]
[Complete residential / registered office address]
Subject: Legal notice demanding payment of ₹[amount] on dishonour of cheque no. [xxxx].
Sir/Madam,
1. Under instructions from and on behalf of my client, [your full name], resident of / carrying on business at [address], I address you as follows.
2. That you issued cheque bearing no. [cheque number] dated [cheque date] for a sum of ₹[amount] drawn on [bank name and branch] in favour of my client, in discharge of a legally enforceable debt/liability, namely [state the underlying transaction, e.g. repayment of loan / payment for goods supplied].
3. That my client presented the said cheque for encashment through [his/her/its] bank, [bank name and branch], within its validity period. The said cheque was returned dishonoured vide the bank’s cheque-return memo dated [date] with the remark “[insufficient funds / account closed / exceeds arrangement, as applicable]”. A copy of the return memo is annexed.
4. That the dishonour of the said cheque has caused my client financial loss and constitutes an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
5. I, therefore, call upon you to pay to my client the said sum of ₹[amount] within fifteen (15) days of receipt of this notice.
6. That should you fail to pay the said amount within the said period of 15 days, my client shall be constrained to initiate criminal proceedings against you under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, before the competent court, and to pursue all other remedies available in law, including a civil suit for recovery, entirely at your risk as to cost and consequences.
7. A copy of this notice is retained in my office for record and further legal action.
[Advocate’s name]
Advocate
Enrolment No. [Bar Council enrolment number]
[Address, contact]
Note: the cheque number, dates, amount, and the underlying debt must be stated precisely, and the notice must be sent within 30 days of the return memo. An error in any of these can invalidate the notice. This is why a lawyer-drafted, correctly served notice matters far more here than in almost any other kind of demand.
Precise, fast, and built to survive every technical challenge the drawer will raise.
We confirm the date on your return memo and calculate your exact 30-day notice deadline, so nothing lapses. If time is short, we move the same day.
We examine the cheque, the return memo, and proof of the underlying debt, the foundation of a valid Section 138 case, and flag any weakness before it becomes a problem.
An advocate drafts a notice that meets every requirement of the Section 138 proviso, cheque particulars, the dishonour, the underlying debt, and a clear demand for payment within 15 days.
We serve on the drawer’s correct address by registered post A.D. or speed post, and by email, retaining every receipt and tracking record as proof of service.
We track the payment window. If the drawer pays, the matter ends. If they do not, we prepare you for the next step without losing a day.
If the deadline passes unpaid, we advise on and assist with the Section 138 complaint before the Magistrate, including asking for interim compensation under Section 143A early.
Not every dishonoured cheque founds a Section 138 case. These conditions must be met, and we check each one before you commit.
Common reasons a case fails: a late or defective notice, an expired cheque, no proof of the underlying debt, or filing the complaint before the 15-day window ends. Every one of these is avoidable with the notice drafted correctly at the start.
A cheque bounce gives you two independent remedies, and running them together maximises pressure.
Filed before the Magistrate, this is the faster pressure route. The Section 139 presumption is in your favour, the drawer faces up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to twice the cheque amount, and the court can order interim compensation of up to 20% under Section 143A during the trial. The threat of a criminal record and the interim compensation often bring a settlement.
Separately, you can file a civil suit, often a fast-track summary suit under Order 37 of the Code of Civil Procedure, to obtain a money decree enforceable against the drawer’s assets. The criminal case pressures; the civil decree recovers. They are independent, so pursuing one does not bar the other. For a broader recovery, see our legal notice for recovery of money.
Explore the full range of our legal notice work.
Our complete pillar guide.
Our core notice service.
Recover money you are owed.
Unpaid invoices, salary, rent, MSME.
When the other side breaks the deal.
False statements that harm your name.
Unlawful termination and unpaid salary.
How a notice alone often works.
Strategy before you go to court.
Prakhar Rai | Founder and Advocate
This guide is authored and reviewed by Prakhar Rai, a practising advocate enrolled with the Bar Council of India and the founder of My Legal Pal. He is an alumnus of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, and holds a Master of Business Laws.
Our cheque bounce notices are drafted by Bar Council-enrolled advocates strictly on the Section 138 timeline, cite the current law accurately, and are built to survive the technical challenges drawers raise and to recover your money, whether through settlement or the courts.
The Section 138 notice is the one step you cannot get wrong or delay. We draft and serve it on the exact statutory timeline, so your right to recover is protected. Fixed fee from ₹2,999, drafted and served within 24 to 48 hours by advocates.
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