A bounced cheque is one of the fastest commercial remedies under Indian law — when handled correctly. Novation Legal files Section 138 prosecutions across Delhi, Gurugram, Noida and Faridabad with a fixed methodology: meticulous demand notice, time-barred filing windows tracked to the day, evidence-led complaint, and execution strategy plotted before the first summons issues.
We act for banks, NBFCs, listed corporates, MSMEs and individual creditors. Every matter is supervised by a partner and prosecuted by a senior counsel team familiar with the Patiala House, Saket, Karkardooma, Gurugram and Noida benches.
Section 138 requires a written demand within 30 days of cheque dishonour, served at the drawer's last known address. A defective notice — wrong address, ambiguous demand, or time-barred dispatch — collapses the entire case. We draft, serve and document every notice with multiple proof-of-service tracks: registered post AD, courier with delivery receipt, e-mail and Speed Post, with affidavit-of-service prepared in advance.
If the drawer fails to pay within 15 days of demand notice receipt, the holder must file a complaint within 30 days from the expiry of the 15-day window. This is a statutory bar; missing the window is fatal. We diary every cheque dishonour the day it occurs and track the filing deadline with redundant calendar systems.
Section 138 is tried as a summary trial with a reverse burden — once cheque issuance is admitted, the law presumes the cheque was issued for a legally enforceable debt. The drawer must rebut. We prepare every prosecution to clear the threshold of admission and then position to extract early settlement or accelerated conviction.
Recent jurisprudence — particularly the Supreme Court's Suo Motu Writ Petition (Crl) No.2 of 2020 timelines and the introduction of fast-track Section 138 courts in NCR — has materially shortened conviction cycles. Where settlement is the goal, we structure pre-summons negotiation under judicial supervision through Section 138 mediation cells.
A Section 138 conviction without execution is an academic exercise. We pursue restitution under Section 357 CrPC, attachment of movable and immovable assets, examination of judgment debtor under Order 21 CPC, and IBC personal insolvency proceedings against habitual defaulters. Where the drawer is a corporate, we trigger parallel director liability and IBC Section 9 proceedings.
Every matter is handled by a partner with end-to-end accountability. Book a confidential consultation in the strictest BCI compliance.