What is meant by cheque bounce?
A cheque bounces when a bank doesn’t honour a payment. A few of the reason are wrong signature, mismatch of figures written on the cheque (in words and figures) and overwriting. These issues are minor and can be solved without the court’s intervention, A major cause for concern is when a cheque bounces due to lack of funds in the drawer’s account.
A cheque bounce is governed by the Section 138 of the Negotiable instruments Act, 1881.
If you have received a cheque that has bounced, you have two options. You can send the person a notice and then if there is no response after 15 days, you can send them a legal notice, by filing a complaint in court.
What is the procedure for Cheque Bounce Case?
The first step in to send a Demand Notice to the person who has issued you a bounced cheque. The notice should contain information about the dishonoured cheque. Details such as the date on which the cheque was issued and a copy of the dishonoured memo should be mentioned in the notice.
Once the person receives the notice, he or she has until 15 days to make a payment to you. If they fail to do so, you can lodge a complaint with the court in the prescribed format.
It is better that you hire lawyers to help you file a complaint. This is because a lawyers know the entire process and how to fill up the form in the right legal language.
Along with the complaint form, you need to submit an Oath Letter, A copy of the notice served along with the acknowledgement receipt, a photocopy of the memo and the bounced cheque received.
Once the judicial court receives your complaint, it will go through the documents sent and verify them. Once the court is satisfied with your complaint, the complainant or his or her lawyers need to fill the Bhatta or Process Form, after which the accused is summoned by the court for a hearing. If the accused doesn’t appear in court, the judge can issue a bailable warrant against the concerned person.