Cheque bounce lawyer in Mumbai

The Section 138 timeline

Every step has a fixed deadline. Missing one usually ends the criminal case, though a civil claim for the money remains. The dates on the right follow the example further down this page.

The offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to two years, or a fine of up to twice the cheque amount, or both. The court can order the drawer to pay interim compensation of up to 20% of the cheque amount during the trial (Section 143A), and a drawer who appeals a conviction must usually deposit at least 20% of the fine or compensation (Section 148).

Which court handles a cheque bounce case in Mumbai

Since the 2015 amendment to Section 142, a cheque presented through your account is tried by the court where the branch of your bank that holds that account is located. It does not matter where the drawer lives or where their bank is. A cheque deposited at any branch of your bank is treated as delivered to your home branch.

Mumbai's magistrate courts are run as one unit, listed on the official site as the CJM Courts, Mumbai (the former Chief Metropolitan Magistrate courts). The Chief Judicial Magistrate sits at the Esplanade court on Mahapalika Marg, and Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate and Judicial Magistrate First Class courts sit at Mazgaon, Girgaon, Kurla, Vikhroli, Borivali, Bandra, Andheri, Mulund and Vile Parle. The Dadar court is currently camped at the Sewree court building, and the Ballard Pier court at the Mazgaon new court building.

Which centre takes your complaint depends on the police-station area of your bank branch: a cheque deposited at a Fort or Nariman Point branch goes to Esplanade, one deposited at an Andheri East branch to the Andheri court. If your account is with a branch in Thane, Bhiwandi or Navi Mumbai, the complaint goes to the Thane district courts instead, not to Mumbai.

Since the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita came into force on 1 July 2024, the old Metropolitan Magistrate courts are designated as Judicial Magistrate courts, so you will see both titles on cause lists and orders.

Cheque bounces in Mumbai's trade

Mumbai's wholesale markets in Masjid Bunder, Kalbadevi and Dana Bunder, the diamond trade at the Bharat Diamond Bourse, and the pharma and chemical distributors across the city still take post-dated cheques as security for credit. When a buyer stops a cheque with "payment stopped by drawer", it is still a Section 138 offence if the money was actually owed, so do not let that remark put you off.

Worked example. A Kalbadevi textile wholesaler banks with a branch in Fort and deposits a ₹6,40,000 cheque from a Surat buyer, which comes back unpaid for "funds insufficient". The bank's memo is dated 4 September 2026. FundRaksha's advocate sends the notice by speed post, email and WhatsApp on 6 September 2026, well inside the 30-day limit of 4 October 2026. It is delivered on 10 September 2026, so the drawer has until 25 September 2026 to pay ₹6,40,000. If they do not, the complaint is filed before 25 October 2026. If the drawer pays ₹6,40,000 after the notice, our fee is 30% of that, ₹1,92,000, and you keep ₹4,48,000.

Documents you need

• The original dishonoured cheque and the bank's return memo
• Your bank statement or passbook entry showing the return, and your branch address
• The invoices, ledger or agreement showing the debt the cheque was given for
• Messages or emails where the buyer promised payment or admitted the dues
• The drawer's full name and address; for a company or firm, the names of the directors or partners in charge
• The drawer's email address and mobile number, for electronic service of the summons

How FundRaksha Legal handles it

1. You share the cheque, memo and invoices on WhatsApp or through the free consultation.
2. A dedicated advocate checks the dates, drafts the statutory notice and sends it within 24 hours of complete documents.
3. The advocate calls the drawer during the 15-day period. Many drawers pay or agree a written settlement here.
4. If there is no payment, the advocate files the complaint in the right Mumbai court and appears for you. Settlement stays open throughout: the case can be compounded under Section 147, and settling early costs the drawer less. Under the Supreme Court's September 2025 guidelines, compounding at the revision stage costs 7.5% of the cheque amount, as the Delhi High Court applied in 2026.

There is no upfront fee. FundRaksha Legal's fee is 30% of the amount actually recovered; if nothing is recovered, there is no success fee. A legal notice goes out within 24 hours of complete documents. Court fees and other statutory charges, if a matter is filed, are paid by you, and you are told what they will be before anything is filed.

Which court hears a cheque bounce case in Mumbai?

The magistrate court for the area of the bank branch where you, the payee, hold the account through which the cheque was presented (Section 142(2) of the NI Act, as amended in 2015). For most Mumbai city branches that means the Chief Judicial Magistrate courts of Mumbai (Esplanade and the other court centres).

My buyer is in Gujarat. Do I still file the cheque case in Mumbai?

Yes, if the cheque was deposited through your account at a Mumbai branch. Since the 2015 amendment the case is filed where your own bank branch is, so a Fort branch means the Esplanade court, wherever the buyer lives. The buyer has to travel to Mumbai for the hearings, which is often what brings them to settle.

How long do I have after the cheque bounces?

30 days from receiving the bank's return memo to send the demand notice. The drawer then has 15 days from receiving it to pay. If they do not, the complaint must be filed within one month after those 15 days end. In the example on this page, a memo dated 4 September 2026 means the notice must go by 4 October 2026.

What does a cheque bounce lawyer in Mumbai cost with FundRaksha?

No upfront fee. The fee is 30% of the amount actually recovered, and the legal notice goes out within 24 hours of complete documents. Court fees, if a complaint is filed, are paid by you and quoted in advance.