Cheque Bounce §138 Timeline Calculator (India)
Use your own assumptions to calculate notice, payment, and complaint planning windows from entered dates before deciding the next operational step.
Estimate only; confirm current law, facts, and official filing requirements.
Planning aid. Verify service, court holidays and limitation computation with counsel before filing.
Date the payee received information of dishonour.
Used to check whether the notice was sent by the outer date.
Required for the payment and complaint windows.
Confirm the factual trigger and enter the bank-information date to view the planning timeline.
Method and sources
Builds the Section 138 notice, payment, and complaint sequence from the entered bank-information and service dates; service disputes and court holidays are not resolved here.
Frequently asked questions
From the date you receive information from the bank that the cheque has been returned unpaid — usually the date on the bank's return memo / dishonour advice, not the cheque date itself.
No cause of action arises under §138 and no complaint can be filed — the matter is treated as resolved for the purposes of the criminal complaint.
No. Section 142(b) uses one month. This tool applies a calendar-month calculation from the cause-of-action date.
Related tools & reading
Reviewed 2026-09-14. India Code