Reply to a cheque bounce notice

The 15 days

The offence is complete only if you do not pay the cheque amount within 15 days of receiving the notice. Paying it in that time, by a method you can prove such as a bank transfer or demand draft with a covering letter, ends the matter under Section 138. Keep the proof.

If you dispute the debt you do not have to pay, but do not stay silent. The Supreme Court counted the accused's failure to answer the notice against him in Sanjabij Tari v Kishore S Borcar (2025).

Check the notice itself

A complaint can only stand on a notice that meets Section 138. Check:

• It was sent within 30 days of the holder learning from the bank that the cheque was returned.
• It demands the cheque amount. A notice that demands a different amount, or does not state the cheque amount, is invalid: the Supreme Court said so in Kaveri Plastics v Mahdoom Bawa Bahrudeen Noorul (2025), following Rahul Builders v Arihant Fertilizers (2007). Other claims such as interest may be added if the cheque amount is demanded separately (Suman Sethi v Ajay K Churiwal, 2000).
• The cheque was presented while valid: within its validity period, which the Reserve Bank has fixed at three months from its date.
• It is addressed to the right person. For a company's cheque, the company and those in charge of its business can be liable (Section 141).

What a reply should say

• The date you received the notice.
• Your answer on the debt: paid, partly paid, never owed, or a different amount, with the documents that show it.
• If the cheque was given as security, whether any debt was due when it was presented. The Supreme Court has held that a security cheque can still lead to a Section 138 case if the debt had fallen due by then (Sripati Singh v State of Jharkhand, 2021).
• Any defect in the notice itself, from the list above.
• Facts only, calmly put. The Magistrate may read your reply.

How to reply to a legal notice

The presumption, and how it is answered

Once your signature on the cheque is proved, the court presumes it was given for a debt or liability (Sections 118 and 139). You can rebut that by showing, on a balance of probabilities, that there was no such debt; you need not prove it beyond doubt, but a bare denial is not enough (Rangappa v Sri Mohan, 2010).

If a case is filed

• It is filed where the payee's bank branch is (Section 142(2)), which may not be where you live.
• The court can order you to pay interim compensation of up to 20% of the cheque amount while the case runs (Section 143A). It is returned with interest if you are acquitted.
• If you are convicted and appeal, the appeal court can ask you to deposit at least 20% of the fine or compensation (Section 148).
• You can settle at any stage (Section 147). Under the Supreme Court's 2025 guidelines in Sanjabij Tari, paying the cheque amount before your evidence is recorded lets the court allow compounding without further costs; settling later carries costs of a share of the cheque amount.

Cheque bounce case: the whole process

Other legal notices