Legal Advice On Cheque Bounce | Hire Cheque Bounce Lawyer
Cheque bounce is a cognizable offence in India under Section 138 of Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881, and can attract a penalty and/or imprisonment of upto 2 years. Get Legal Advice On Cheque Bounce
4 Commonest reasons for cheque bounce
- Insufficient funds: Before you issue a cheque (person who issues a cheque is called drawer), make sure you have sufficient funds in your bank account so that the cheque is not dishonoured or does not get bounced. The bank can charge you a penalty for cheque bounce and you need Hire a Cheque Bounce Lawyer.
- Wrong information on the cheque: Please check the details you fill in the cheque before submitting or giving it to the payee (the person to whom you issue the cheque). Any wrong details, such as wrong date or amount or name can lead to a bounced cheque.
- Overwriting on cheque: The bank disregards a cheque that has overwriting or scribbling on it. Make sure you fill in the details correctly in the first attempt.
- Signature mismatch: Make sure you do exactly the same signature that is recorded in the bank for which you are drawing the cheque, otherwise the bank will dishonour the cheque.
Other reasons are:
- Closure of drawer’s bank account.
- If the drawer withholds payment on the cheque (after issuing it).
- Overdraft limits exceed.
- Difference in the amount written in words and that written in figures on the cheque.
- Wrong account number written on the cheque.
- The cheque has expired or has become invalid. This happens after 3 months from the date of issuing the cheque.
How does a person come to know that the cheque is bounced?
- When the drawer is liable to pay a certain amount to the payee, he or she issues a cheque. The validity of this cheque is 3 months from the date of issue.
- The payee now goes to his/her bank and deposits the cheque. If there is a problem in the cheque or if there is insufficient fund in the drawer’s account, the drawer’s bank will dishonour the cheque and send a “cheque return memo” to the bank of the payee.
- The payee’s bank will forward this memo to the payee.
Now, it is upto the payee to file a complaint against the drawer or to contact the drawer informing him/her about the bounced cheque.
As a payee, you have the legal right to file a complaint against the drawer and prosecute him/her.
Sending a legal notice for cheque bounce And Legal Advice On Cheque Bounce
You must send a legal notice within 30 days of receiving the Cheque Return Memo. The drawer gets a period of 15 days to respond to the notice.
If the drawer pays off the complete amount as written in the cheque to the payee within 15 days, then there will be no criminal case against him/her.
If the drawer does not pay within the said time, the payee can file a case in the competent court. It should be done within 30 days of the expiry of 15-day time period of the legal notice.
Benefits to choose service
In case a drawer issues you a cheque and it gets bounced, you must not worry. If you don’t know what to do, Hire Cheque Bounce Lawyer for legal advice. He/she will help you in drafting and sending a legal notice to the drawer. Also, if the drawer does not respond to the notice within the said time or refuses to pay the amount mentioned in the cheque, you can file a case against him/her in court, seeking your amount. Online Legal Center can help you in this regard.
If you are a drawer facing the issue of bounced cheque and have received a legal notice or a lawsuit for the same, please contact a lawyer immediately. Remember, cheque bounce is a criminal offence, so do not take it lightly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, the offender can get a bail in this case. But if you fail to appear in the court for the hearing, the court can issue a warrant to arrest you. In this case, the warrant will be non-bailable one.
Yes. The law gives the drawer a chance to correct his/her mistake by issuing another cheque to the payee within 15 days of receiving the legal notice from the payee. If this cheque gets honoured by the bank, meaning the payee receives the money through the cheque, then there will be no criminal case against the drawer.
However, if the cheque gets bounced again, then the payee has all the right to file a criminal case against the drawer under Section 138 of Negotiable Instrument Act and the case is dealt as per Code of Criminal Procedure.
Every criminal has the right to a fair trial. So, in this case, too, you will get a chance to put your stand as to why the cheque bounced or why there were insufficient funds in the account. Please hire a competent lawyer to represent your case for a more favourable outcome.
The bank can terminate the account of the defaulter or block the chequebook, plus the bank also charges a penalty for every cheque that has bounced.
The biggest consequence is the negative effect on your CIBIL score, which goes down and you become ineligible to get a loan from your bank in the future. The other consequences are paying a penalty and facing a criminal charge.