There is no government-prescribed Word format for a cheque bounce notice, and the law fixes no form number. What Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 requires is a written demand, sent within thirty days of the payee receiving the bank's memo of dishonour, asking the drawer to pay the exact cheque amount within fifteen days. You can draft it yourself in MS Word; what decides whether your complaint survives is the contents and the dates, not the software. This page gives the mandatory contents, a copy-ready structure and the deadlines that matter.
The offence and where the notice fits
Section 138 makes the dishonour of a cheque for insufficiency of funds, or because the amount exceeds the arrangement with the bank, a criminal offence. The punishment is imprisonment up to two years, or a fine which may extend to twice the cheque amount, or both.
The offence is not complete simply because the cheque was returned unpaid. It becomes complete only when the drawer fails to pay within fifteen days of receiving a valid notice of demand. The notice, in other words, is the step that creates the cause of action, and a defective notice can sink a genuine claim even where the debt is admitted.
Two other provisions matter. Section 142 of the Act governs who may file the complaint and the one-month limitation, and Section 143 provides for summary trial. Since 1 July 2024 the old Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 has been replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, so the complaint is now filed under the BNSS even though the offence itself remains under Section 138 of the NI Act. Anyone still searching for "Section 138 CrPC" should note that the cheque-bounce provision was always in the NI Act, not the CrPC.
What the notice must contain
A cheque bounce notice is a statutory document, not a routine letter. In practice it should carry each of the following, and a missing item is the usual reason a complaint is dismissed at the threshold:
- The name and full postal address of the payee or holder in due course, and of the drawer to whom the notice is addressed.
- Particulars of the cheque: cheque number, date written on it, amount in figures and in words, and the bank and branch on which it was drawn.
- The date the cheque was presented and the date the bank returned it unpaid.
- The fact of dishonour and the reason recorded in the return memo, for example insufficiency of funds.
- A clear demand that the drawer pay the cheque amount, and the mode of payment.
- The statutory period of fifteen days from receipt of the notice within which payment must be made.
- A statement that failure to pay within that period will lead to criminal proceedings under Section 138 of the NI Act.
- The date, place and signature of the sender, who may be the payee or an advocate acting for the payee.
A sample structure to paste into Word
Use an ordinary business-letter layout. Put your name and address at the top, then the date, then the drawer's name and address, then a subject line reading "Notice of dishonour of cheque under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881", then numbered paragraphs, the demand, the fifteen-day warning and a signature block. The skeleton below is a working structure; replace every bracketed item and do not leave any bracket unedited.
Paragraph 1 states who you are and that you are the payee. Paragraph 2 sets out the debt or transaction for which the cheque was issued, with the date. Paragraph 3 lists the cheque particulars and the fact that it was presented for payment. Paragraph 4 records that the bank returned it unpaid on a stated date with a stated reason. Paragraph 5 states that you hereby demand payment of the cheque amount within fifteen days of receipt of the notice. Paragraph 6 warns that non-payment will compel you to file a complaint under Section 138 read with Sections 141 and 142 of the Act. Paragraph 7 reserves your right to recover the amount by civil suit as well. End with a place, date and signature.
Keep the demand itself separate and unambiguous. Where a notice mixes the cheque amount with interest, costs, damages and other pending dues into one global figure, courts have sometimes read it as not being a demand for the cheque amount. Demand the cheque amount first and clearly; additional claims can be mentioned after, as a separate reserve.
Key dates and periods
Every cheque bounce complaint turns on a short chain of dates. Get any one of them wrong and the chain breaks.
| Event | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Presentation of the cheque to the bank | Within three months of the date on the cheque | Cheque validity reduced by the Reserve Bank of India from six months with effect from 1 April 2012 |
| Notice of demand | Within thirty days of receiving the return memo | Proviso (b) to Section 138, NI Act 1881 |
| Time for the drawer to pay | Fifteen days from receipt of the notice | Proviso (c) to Section 138, NI Act 1881 |
| Filing the complaint | Within one month of the day the fifteen days end | Section 142(1)(b), NI Act 1881, with power to condone delay |
The thirty days for the notice and the one month for the complaint are different periods with different rules. Delay in filing the complaint may be condoned if the complainant shows sufficient cause; delay in giving the notice is a different matter and is discussed in our note on whether a notice can be sent after thirty days.
How to send the notice so that it can be proved
The notice must reach the drawer's correct address. Registered post or speed post with acknowledgement due is the standard mode, and it produces two documents the complaint will need: the postal receipt showing the date of despatch, and the acknowledgement card or the returned cover showing service. If the drawer refuses delivery, the returned article bearing a "refused" endorsement is generally treated as good service. Email, courier or hand delivery can be used, but they are harder to prove and should not replace the postal despatch.
Preserve the original return memo, the notice as sent, the postal receipt and the acknowledgement. In a summary trial under Section 143 these documents do most of the work, and a complaint without them is usually met with a request for dismissal at the very first hearing.
Drafting mistakes that get complaints dismissed
- Sending the notice after the thirty-day window from the return memo, so no cause of action ever arises.
- Stating a wrong amount, a wrong cheque number or a wrong date, so the notice does not describe the dishonoured cheque.
- Demanding interest, costs or a lump-sum settlement figure instead of the cheque amount.
- Addressing the notice to an old or incorrect address, or to a company without naming it correctly.
- A notice signed by someone with no authority, for example a manager or employee without a written authorisation from the payee.
- Demanding payment in fewer than fifteen days, for example "within seven days", which curtails the statutory period and may be treated as defective.
- Omitting the warning that criminal action will follow, which weakens the notice's statutory character.
Do you need an advocate to send it?
A payee can send the notice personally, and many do. But the notice fixes the pleadings and the limitation for everything that follows, so a defect is usually fatal before the merits are even reached. For that reason most people engage an advocate to issue it, which also keeps the postal proof and acknowledgement in a single, traceable file. In Kolkata and across West Bengal a notice can usually be drafted and despatched the same day once the return memo and cheque particulars are in hand, and you can arrange that through a free consultation. The full range of options after dishonour is set out in our guide to legal action for a bounced cheque.
If payment does not come: filing the complaint
If the drawer does not pay within fifteen days of receiving the notice, the payee may file a complaint before a Judicial Magistrate. Under Section 142(2) the complaint is tried by a court within whose jurisdiction the branch of the bank where the payee maintains the account is situated, which is why most Kolkata payees file locally. The complaint must be filed within one month of the cause of action, though the court may condone a delay on sufficient cause being shown. Once filed, the matter proceeds as a summary trial, and the drawer may be directed to pay interim compensation of up to twenty per cent of the cheque amount under Section 143A of the Act. If you would rather have the notice drafted and the complaint prepared in one place, you can reach the office through the Kolkata advocate's page.