Cheque Dishonour Case in Bangladesh (Section 138): Notice, Deadline, Punishment & How to File

In this guide: The four deadlines · The demand notice · Which court · What you file · Getting your money · Appeal · Defences that actually work · If you are the drawer

The short answer

Under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, it is an offence if a cheque given to pay a debt or liability is dishonoured for insufficient funds, or because payment was stopped, and the drawer then fails to pay within 30 days of a written demand. The remedy works only if four time limits are met in order. The drawer faces up to one year’s imprisonment, a fine of up to three times the cheque amount, or both, and the fine realised is paid to you up to the cheque amount.

The four deadlines

Miss any one and the section 138 case fails, however good the debt. You can present a cheque more than once within its validity, and the notice period then runs from the dishonour you rely on.

The demand notice

The notice must identify the cheque (number, date, amount, bank and branch), state that it was dishonoured and why, and demand payment of the cheque amount within 30 days. Do not demand a different sum or add interest in a section 138 notice; that gives the drawer a technical defence. Our legal notice checklist sets out the headings.

The law allows three ways of serving it: by hand against a signed receipt, by registered post with acknowledgement due, or by advertisement in a widely circulated Bangla national daily. Use at least two. Proof of service is the first thing the defence attacks, and the date of receipt starts the drawer’s 30 days.

Which court

Since the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act 2026, a complaint over a cheque of more than Tk 5 lakh is tried by a Joint Sessions Judge’s court. Smaller cheques go before a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class. The complaint is usually filed where the cheque was presented and dishonoured; take advice if the parties and banks are in different districts.

What you file

• The original cheque and the bank’s dishonour memo (return slip).
• The demand notice, with postal receipts, the AD card or the newspaper page.
• Evidence of the debt or liability behind the cheque: agreement, invoices, transfers, messages.
• A sworn complaint petition stating the dates of each step.

Getting your money

The criminal case puts pressure on the drawer. Where a fine is imposed and realised, the amount up to the face value of the cheque is paid to you. Many cases settle once the drawer faces conviction, and in September 2026 the High Court Division held that where the full cheque amount has been paid and the parties have settled, imprisonment should not be imposed or kept. If the underlying debt is larger than the cheque, or you need interest and costs, a civil money suit runs alongside.

Appeal

A convicted drawer can appeal only after depositing at least 50 per cent of the dishonoured cheque amount in the court that passed the sentence (section 138A; since the 2026 amendment the appellate court may relax this for recorded reasons). In practice this means an appeal is rarely a free delay.

The 2026 amendment. The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act 2026 (Act No. 65 of 2026, gazetted 10 April 2026; the ordinance it replaced ran from 16 February 2026) made three changes that matter here. The 50 per cent deposit is no longer absolute: the appellate court may relax it for reasons recorded, though the deposit remains the rule and a convicted drawer should assume it will be asked for. A section 138 case may now be compounded at any stage, so a settlement with the payee ends the case cleanly. And section 141 has been tightened so that only those who signed the company cheque or actually ran the company are drawn into a company cheque case. These are the reported terms of the Act; check the text for a live case.

Defences that actually work

• A missed deadline, or a notice that was defective or never properly served.
• No legally enforceable debt or liability behind the cheque. The law presumes one, so the drawer must prove its absence with documents.
• A cheque altered, or a blank cheque completed in a way the drawer did not authorise.

“It was only a security cheque” is argued constantly and fails often. If the debt it secured was due when the cheque was presented, courts usually treat the cheque as given for that liability.

If you are the drawer

The 30 days after the notice are your best opportunity. Paying within them ends the matter without an offence. If the claim is wrong, reply in writing within that time, with the reasons and documents. Silence is treated as acceptance and is the worst possible response.