Cheque bounce complaint under section 138

How do I file a cheque bounce case after the drawer ignores my notice?

The complaint, the synopsis the Supreme Court asks for, your affidavit of evidence and the list of documents, dated from your own cheque.

Index
Synopsis
Complaint under section 138
Affidavit of evidence under section 145
Affidavit of the accused's contact particulars
List of documents
Before you file

Once the drawer has had the notice and 15 days pass without payment, the cause of action arises. Section 142(1)(b) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 gives you one month from that day to file a written complaint before a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first class.

The court is the one with local jurisdiction over the branch where you keep the account you deposited the cheque into (section 142(2)(a)). If you presented the cheque at the drawer's own branch instead, it is the court for that branch (section 142(2)(b)). Section 145 lets you give your evidence on affidavit, so the pack includes that affidavit ready to swear.

On 25 September 2025 the Supreme Court directed that every section 138 complaint carry a synopsis in a set format, right after the index, and that you give the drawer's email and mobile with an affidavit (Sanjabij Tari v. Kishore S. Borcar). The pack follows that format and works out your filing window from the date the drawer received the notice.

It will not build a complaint that would be early or late, one where the drawer has paid part of the amount, or one against a company or firm. For those we prepare the papers with you.

Fill in your own

Before we start

Does the cheque name you, or your business, as payee? *

Has the drawer paid any part of the cheque amount? *

Is another section 138 complaint by you against this drawer pending in any court? *

You, the complainant

Who is making the complaint? *

Complainant's name *As the cheque names the payee. For a sole proprietor, the owner's own name.

Short description of the complainant *For example "aged 45, a trader" or "a private limited company".

Complainant's full address *

Name of the person who signs and swears the affidavits *For a person or a sole proprietor, the complainant. For a company, LLP or firm, the person it authorises.

The drawer

Who drew the cheque? *

For a company, LLP or firm, we prepare the complaint with you on a call.

Drawer's name *For a sole proprietor, the owner's own name.

Drawer's address *

Drawer's mobile or WhatsApp numberGive the mobile number, the email or both. The court uses them to serve the summons.

Drawer's email address

The cheque

Cheque number *

Date on the cheque *

Cheque amount *

Drawer's bank and branch *As printed on the cheque.

Account number printed on the cheque *

What the cheque was given for *The debt in your own words, for example the balance on invoice 112 or a loan given on 3 March 2026.

Papers that prove the debt

For example the invoice, the loan agreement, the ledger or messages. The cheque, memo and notice papers are listed already.

Presentation and return

How did you present the cheque? *

Date you presented the cheque *

Date printed on the return memo *

Date the bank first told you of the return *Memo, SMS or statement, whichever came first.

Reason on the return memo *Copy it as the memo prints it.

Your notice

Date of your demand notice *

How you sent it *For example "registered post with acknowledgement due" or "speed post".

Tracking or receipt number *

Did the drawer receive the notice? *

Date the drawer received the notice *From the acknowledgement card or the tracking record.

Date of the drawer's replyLeave empty if the drawer did not reply.

What the reply says, in one line

The court and the filing

The court *For example "Judicial Magistrate First Class, Pune". It is the Magistrate's court for the area of the bank branch above.

Do you ask for interim compensation under section 143A? *

The court decides whether to order it.

Town where you sign the documents *

Date on the documents *Today, or any day in the next seven days.

We keep your answers and number so we can help if you ask. Ask us at any time and we delete them.

BuildWright does documentation, filing and compliance facilitation. This tool works from the rules cited on this page and does not give legal advice. We prepare the documents from your answers; you check, sign and send or file them.

Common questions

When can I file the complaint?

From the day after the drawer's 15 days to pay end, and within one month of that day (section 138 proviso (c), section 142(1)(b)). The before-you-file sheet gives both dates for your cheque.

Which court do I file in?

A Magistrate's court for the area of your bank branch, where the cheque went for collection through your account (section 142(2)(a)), or for the drawer's branch if you presented it there (section 142(2)(b)). Ask at the district court's filing counter which court takes cheque complaints for that area.

How much is the court fee?

It is set by your State's court-fee law and differs between States. The pack does not state a figure. The filing counter tells you the fee for your complaint.

The drawer is a company. Can I use this pack?

No. Who is named as accused for a company, LLP or firm turns on section 141, so we prepare that complaint with you on a call.

Not sure it applies to you?Check with the free Cheque Bounce Notice Timer first. Nothing you enter is stored.

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