Cheque Bounce Complaint by Advocate Deepti Dogra

Cheques are an important aspect of our Indian financial system. To know what cheque bounce is, we should first know what a cheque is. A cheque is a document that orders a bank to pay a specified amount of money from the holder's account to the person in whose name the cheque is issued. The person writing the cheque is known as a drawer and the person who receives it is known as the drawee. There are different types of cheques like bearer cheques, order cheques, crossed cheques, blank cheques, post-dated cheques, open cheques, uncrossed cheques, banker's cheques, canceled cheques, mutilated cheques, traveler's cheques, and many more.

So now, cheque bounce is the reverse of the cheques issued. It is a situation that defines the unsuccessful processing of a dispensed cheque due to several reasons. There are bad impacts of cheque bounces like it can hamper the person's financial credit history. It can shake the holder's CIBIL score, which can lead us to the situation of not getting a loan. Then, the bank doesn't provide the checkbooks to the person who has been booked repeatedly in the cheque bounce case. As said above the reasons may be numerous, but the after-effects are severe.

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Reasons for Cheque Bounce

There can be various reasons for the bouncing of cheques. Some of the common causes for the bouncing of cheques are listed below:
1. Insufficient Funds One of the primary reasons could be insufficient funds. When the holder issues a cheque that is connected to the account, which holds less money can lead to a cheque bounce. Here the bank dishonors the cheque and charges a penalty amount to both parties. The receiver can also claim legal action against the holder.
2. The Date Mentioned on Cheques The date is an important aspect of the cheque. Though many people ignore this date, considering it a small factor, this can lead to dishonoring the cheque and thus a cheque bounce. The date should be written properly and if the cheque contains the date which is some months old, then it will surely get bounced.
3. Signature Mismatch This is the most common problem faced by the people of our country India. If, our signature doesn't match with the bank records signature then, our cheque is under the count of the bounced one. So, keeping this in mind we all should always have the same signature when it comes to the matter of our financial aspects. The other aspects or factors for the cheque bounces can be damaged cheques, overwriting on the cheque as correction, and scribbling over cheques is not acceptable. The difference in the amount mentioned in numbers and written in words. Yes, sometimes this can also be the reason. So understanding the reasons that cause a cheque bounce, we should now know how to file a cheque complaint and what are documents required for this complaint filing.

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Documents Required for Filing a Cheque Bounce Complaint

According to the u/s section, 138 of Negotiable instrument following are the documents required:-

• An original cheque which was bounced.

• Name of the accused company or party.

• Particulars of the dishonored cheque.

• Person/company on whose name the cheque has been issued.

• The drawer of the cheque.

• Date of issuance of the cheque.

• Name of the drawer bank and its location.

• Name of the drawee bank.

• Name of the signatory of the cheque.

• Cheque return memo provided by the bank.

• Name and designation of the person liable for the commission of the offense by the accused company and the role for which they were responsible for the alleged offense.

• Particulars of the legal notice and the status of its service. (here the notice shall be served within 30 days of the cheque dishonored.)

• Verification and affidavit of the complaint.

• Particulars of the reply to a legal notice.

• Vakalatnama, along with the court fees.

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Procedure for Filing a Cheque Bounce Complaint

The cheque bounce complaint can be filed by following the below-mentioned steps:

• The cheque needs to be presented to the bank within 3 months, from the date it was drawn or whichever is earlier.

• Now, a legal notice is issued to the drawer within 30 days of the dishonor of the cheque keeping all the facts relevant. Now, here the drawer is provided a period of not more than 15 days to clear the payment. If the party does then the issue is resolved. But if not, then the complainant can file a criminal case u/s 138 within 30 days from the date of expiry of 15 days as specified in the notice, along with the concerned magistrate of competent jurisdiction.

• Now, if the court is satisfied with the complainant, then it issues orders to the drawer to appear in court.

• If the accused abstains to appear in court, then the court issues a bailable warrant. Now, again the accused refuses to appear, and then a non-bailable warrant is issued.

• On the appearance of the accused party, the party can furnish a bail bond to ensure his appearance in the trial.

• Now, if the accused pleads guilty, then the court will give the matter of punishment and if the party refuses then it will be given a copy of the complaint.

• The complainant may present his evidence of affidavit and all other documents, where the complainant will be cross-examined by the accused party.

• The next step is where the accused party will also submit documents in defense.

• The last stage will be, after the document where the court shall pass its judgment. If the accused felt guilty, then the matter is settled with the payment and other money-related matters. If not then the case shall move on to the high court, and further on. However, if the accused is convicted then he can file an appeal in the session court.

Author

Advocate Deepti Dogra

4.8 | 50+ user ratings
Pitampura, Delhi
19 years