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Cheque-Bounce Notice & Complaint Calculator

When a cheque is dishonoured, Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 fixes strict time limits. Enter your dates to see the key deadlines.

Drives the 30-day deadline to send your demand notice.
Drives the drawer's 15 days to pay and the one-month window to file.

Enter at least the cheque-return date and press Calculate deadlines. Everything is worked out in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.

How the Section 138 timeline works

  1. 1

    Cheque dishonoured

    The bank returns the cheque unpaid (for example, “funds insufficient”) and issues a return memo. The clock starts when you receive that information from the bank.

  2. 2

    Demand notice within 30 dayss. 138, proviso (b)

    The payee (or holder in due course) must demand the cheque amount by a notice in writing to the drawer, within 30 days of receiving the bank's return information.

  3. 3

    Drawer's 15 days to pays. 138, proviso (c)

    On receiving the notice, the drawer has 15 days to pay the amount.

  4. 4

    Cause of actions. 138, proviso (c)

    If the drawer does not pay within those 15 days, the offence under s. 138 is complete and the cause of action arises the next day.

  5. 5

    File the complaint within one months. 142(b) and its proviso

    The payee must file the complaint before a Magistrate within one month of the date the cause of action arose. A court may still entertain a later complaint if the complainant shows sufficient cause for the delay.

Periods taken from the official text of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, sections 138 and 142 (source: India Code, indiacode.nic.in). The 30-day notice period was substituted for the earlier 15 days by Act 55 of 2002 (w.e.f. 06.02.2003).

Please read
  • This is a general planning aid, not legal advice, and does not create an advocate-client relationship.
  • The exact last date can depend on when the notice is actually received or deemed served, and on how the “one month” is counted. Confirm the precise dates with an advocate before you act.
  • The complaint can be filed only after the 15-day period expires, and ordinarily within one month of the cause of action; a court may condone a later filing for sufficient cause (proviso to s. 142).
  • The 30 days run from when you receive the bank's return information, not from the date written on the cheque.

Dealing with a dishonoured cheque? You can contact the firm to discuss your matter.