Court
Handled by Advocate N. J. Parmar, B.A., LL.B., more than thirty-five years at the Bar. Court practice and notaryship run together: under section 3 of the Notaries Act, 1952 read with Rule 3 of the Notaries Rules, 1956, notaries are appointed from among advocates of long standing, and the application is routed through the court where the advocate practises.
Present the cheque within six months of its date or within its validity period, whichever is earlier. Since the Reserve Bank capped cheque validity at three months in 2012, in practice that means three months. The statutory demand notice must then go within 30 days of your receiving the bank's intimation of dishonour. The drawer has 15 days from receiving it to pay. The complaint must be filed within one month of that period expiring — a court may condone delay for sufficient cause, but do not plan on it.
The sequence
- The cheque is presented and returned. Keep the return memo — it is the document the whole timeline runs from.
- A statutory demand notice is sent within 30 days of your receiving the bank's intimation of dishonour. It has to say the right things; a defective notice ends the complaint before it starts.
- The drawer has 15 days from receipt to pay. Many do — the notice itself resolves a large share of these matters.
- If he does not, the complaint is filed within one month of that period expiring. A court may condone delay for sufficient cause, but that is a concession to ask for, not a plan.
Delay. A cheque held for two years and then banked, or a notice sent on day 35, is usually past saving. And a weak underlying transaction. Section 138 requires the cheque to have been given for a legally enforceable debt or liability. Where the debt is disputed, undocumented, or time-barred, the defence writes itself. The strength of the case is decided by the loan agreement or the invoice behind the cheque, not by the cheque.
If you have received a section 138 notice
You have 15 days from receipt to pay, and payment within that window generally ends the matter. If you dispute the claim — the cheque was given as security and misused, there was no legally enforceable debt, the amount was altered — the reply has to go within that window and has to say so. Replying to a notice →
Beyond section 138
A criminal complaint under section 138 punishes the dishonour. It is not the only route to the money, and in some matters a civil recovery suit alongside or instead is the better course. Which fits depends on the amount, the documentation and the drawer's circumstances.
Where a claim is time-barred, where the document relied on was never registered and therefore cannot be received in evidence of the transaction under section 49 of the Registration Act, 1908, or where the realistic recovery is less than the cost of recovering it — you will be told at the first meeting, not after money has been spent. A settlement reached quickly is very often worth more than a decree obtained slowly.
What to bring
- The cheque itself
- The bank's return memo
- Proof of the underlying transaction — agreement, invoice, ledger
- The drawer's full name and every known address
- Any correspondence about the payment