A Section 138 case is mostly arithmetic with dates. The cheque must have been presented within its validity; the notice must go within thirty days of the return memo; the complaint must be filed within a month after the drawer’s fifteen days run out. Miss one and the criminal remedy is gone.
That is why the first thing we ask for is the return memo, and the date you received it.
For the payee
We send a notice that will survive scrutiny at trial, file on time, and — where the court allows — seek interim compensation under Section 143A, which can be up to twenty per cent of the cheque amount.
For the drawer
Not every returned cheque is an offence. The cheque may not have been for a legally enforceable debt; the notice may be defective or out of time. We examine all of it before advising you to pay or to defend.
