Chq Bounce case
1. Cheque was issued in my name and the same got bounced (01/Mar/12)with a ack from HDFC “Closure of account”.
2. Within 20 days, I have sent a notice to the payer (defaulter) to stating the reason to send the notice and credit the amount to my account.
3. He did not respond to it, however, I have re-presented the cheque before 03 months from the date of 01st cheque present date (01/Jun/12). Again it’s the same result. Cheque bounced.
4. Thereafter on a mutual consent we both have agreed to settle the amount over a period of 06 months. But out of 95k, he remitted 15K. But still 80K is held up with him.
Now, can you please advise me how do I go about here ?
1. Can I send one more notice to him ?
2. Can I file a case in a police station on the grounds of Sec 420/Fraud?
3. How many ways are there to file a complaint against him ?
4. Can I approach consumer court for this ?
5. What is the probability that I win / get back my money in this case ?
6. If I file the case now, will court ask me as to why there was a delay in taking the steps? Please suggest me reasons that court can entertain, though we have mutually agreed to settle, but he defaulted again
7. How do I justify that the Cheque belongs to him ? or he is the original owner of the cheque ? (the bank has given the ack stating “Return unpaid reason account closed”. Does this by default mean, the cheque 100% belongs to him?
Please advise sir.
2 Replies
1. You may issue notice to the drawer( who issue the cheque) not for taking action under sec. 138 of NI Act but for recovery of the cheque amount in a civil suit.
2. The civil suit for recovery can be filed within 3 years from the date of cheque.
3. If the intention of the drawer was malafide at the time of issue of the cheque, complaint for committing the fraud may be filed with the Police.
4. Consumer court has no jurisdiction in such cases.
5. You will surely recover the amount of the cheque along with interest if you can produce evidence in the court to the court’s satisfaction that the cheque in question was issued for consideration.
Dear Joginder - thanks for the detailed reply.
However, on point number 5 - I have heard that cheque bounce cases can often take years if they are contested.
For example, they can claim that the cheque signature, was faked, etc (though I guess in this case the mutual consent order would help as evidence). Nevertheless, I have heard cheque bouncing horror stories.
Would you say those are common?