Your cheque bounced: the three deadlines that decide the case
A dishonoured cheque becomes a criminal complaint only if three deadlines are met in order. Missing any one of them ends the remedy, and none of them can be extended by agreement.
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What section 138 actually requires
Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 makes it an offence to issue a cheque that is returned unpaid for insufficiency of funds, or because it exceeds the arrangement with the bank. The maximum punishment is two years' imprisonment, or a fine of up to twice the cheque amount, or both.
The offence is not complete when the cheque bounces. It is complete only after the payee has demanded payment in writing and the drawer has failed to pay. That is why the sequence below matters more than the amount.
Thirty days to send the demand notice
The clock starts on the day you receive the dishonour memo from your bank, not on the date written on the cheque and not on the day you learn about it informally. You have 30 days from that receipt to send the drawer a written demand for the cheque amount.
Keep the memo. It is the document that fixes the start date, and a complaint that cannot prove when the 30 days began is a complaint whose timing cannot be established.
Fifteen days for the drawer to pay
The drawer then has 15 days from receiving your notice to pay. If they pay within that window, there is no offence — the section is a payment mechanism before it is a punishment.
Only when those 15 days pass without payment does the cause of action arise. Filing before that is premature, and the complaint fails on that ground alone.
One month to file the complaint
From the day the cause of action arises — the day after the 15 days expire — you have one month to file the criminal complaint.
This is the deadline most often missed, because it is the shortest and it starts running at a moment nothing external announces. Confirm all three dates with an advocate before you rely on them; the platform's cheque-bounce tool works the sequence through with your actual dates.
Provisions cited
- Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, s. 138
- Dishonour of cheque for insufficiency of funds. 30 days to demand, 15 days to pay, one month to file.
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This is general legal information, not legal advice. It cannot account for the facts of your situation. Consult a qualified advocate before acting.