Made under: Proviso (c) to s.138 and s.139, NI Act
Reply to a cheque-bounce demand notice — s.138 NI Act (within 15 days)
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The fifteen days run from this date — proviso (c) to s.138.
Exactly as it appears on your Aadhaar or ID.
Why the cheque was given, whether anything was owed, whether it has been paid — with dates. Write only what you can prove.
The document
To,
________________
________________
(By registered post / speed post — keep the receipt)
Subject: Reply to your notice under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, received on ________________, concerning cheque No. ________________ dated ________________ for ₹________________.
Made under: the proviso to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, read with Section 139.
Sir / Madam,
1. I, ________________, resident of ________________, received your notice on ________________. This reply is sent within fifteen days of that date.
2. My reply on the facts:
________________
3. [Choose the paragraph that is true, and delete the other.]
(a) No legally enforceable debt or liability existed when the cheque was presented. The cheque was given as security / for a purpose other than the discharge of a debt, as stated above. The presumption under Section 139 is rebuttable on a preponderance of probabilities (Rangappa v. Sri Mohan, (2010) 11 SCC 441; Basalingappa v. Mudibasappa, (2019) 5 SCC 418), and the facts above rebut it.
(b) The amount of the cheque has been paid on ................ by ................ (details), within fifteen days of receipt of your notice. Under clause (c) of the proviso to Section 138, no offence arises where payment is made within that period.
4. You are called upon to return the cheque and to withdraw the notice. Any complaint filed in disregard of these facts will be contested, and I reserve every remedy available to me in law.
Yours faithfully,
________________
________________
Place: ________________
Date: ________________What to attach
- The notice and its envelope — they prove the date you received it.
- Proof of payment, if you paid (bank transfer, receipt).
- Documents showing why the cheque was given — the agreement, messages, accounts.
- Send the reply by registered post and keep the receipt.