Where to file a complaint?

Complaint to Recover the Cheque Amount

Such a complaint is a civil complaint (different from a criminal complaint for check bounce/dishonour). In order to recover your money, you need to file a money suit either in the City Civil Court or the District Court depending on how much amount you are looking to recover. The specific court depends on the value of your claim. You should check your State’s local Civil Courts Act for the current monetary limits.

You have to file this case within three years of the Cheque Return Memo.

For further assistance in filing a money suit, please contact a legal professional.

Complaint to Punish the Issuer of the Cheque

This is  known as a criminal complaint and can be filed before a magistrate where either:

For Crossed Cheques

In the area where your home branch is, i.e. branch of the bank where you have an account.

For Bearer or Order cheques

In the area where the branch of the drawee bank is, i.e. the bank from which the cheque was drawn on.

A criminal case cannot be initiated unless you have a Cheque Return Memo, hence the cheque needs to be deposited in the bank.

Interim Compensation

While the case is on, the court may direct the issuer of the cheque to pay interim compensation to the complainant for up to 20% of the cheque amount.

The grant of interim compensation is discretionary and not automatic. Before awarding the compensation, the court may consider factors such as the nature of the transaction, the conduct of the parties, and whether there seems to be some kind of a case in favour of the complainant based on the facts.

The court also specifies how long the compensation should be paid.