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Mayank Wadhwani   12 December 2025

Cheque bounce case

My father helped a lady with money. When we asked for repayment, she gave cheques. After giving cheques, she slowly repaid 40% of the amount and gave new cheques for the remaining amount. She did not repay anything after that. We bounced the cheques and filed a case in the court. Bailable warrant is issued and she has not come to the court yet.

The problem is, she has taken more money from my father after issuing the cheques promising that whole amount will be repaid if my father agrees to give more money. My father agreed and gave her more money even after the cheques were issued and bounced. There is no agreement, we have phone chats for the money taken.

Now for this portion of money, we don't have cheques from her. The whole amount is paid through bank account though.

My question is how can we do legal recovery of whole amount. Is it good to go to police? I have a strong doubt that she has given fake reasons to take money from my father if we dig into the whole story. Can we file 406 or 420 apart from 138 for the amount for which we don't have cheques? She is saying she will return all the amount but not repaying and not coming in the court as well. 



 12 Replies

kavksatyanarayana (subregistrar/supdt.(retired))     12 December 2025

After bouncing the cheques and not repaying the amount, how did your father give her money again?

Mayank Wadhwani   12 December 2025

She made promises that giving a small amount again would help her to clear her siyuation and she would be able to give the whole amount back. By doing this she has again taken a huge amount by taking small small amounts. It waa a trap which my father didn't recognise. Please help for a effective solution.

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate)     13 December 2025

You may issue a legal notice to her and once she acknowledges the loan, the same will help you to file a money recovery suit.

1 Like

Dr. J C Vashista (Advocate )     13 December 2025

Even after dishonour of cheques issued by the lady (borrower) your father had been kind enough to advance some more money to her, as I could make out from the facts posted ???

You have already stated to have filed a complaint for dishonour of her cheque, it is better to seek opinon, advise and / or guidance of the lawyer engaged by you, who is well aware about facts and circumstances of the case. 

Advocate Bhartesh goyal (advocate)     13 December 2025

Since your father has already initiated cheque bounce proceedings and now he can also file suit for recovery of money and both cases can run parrallely.

Mayank Wadhwani   13 December 2025

Thank you for the responses. Recovery suit is an option, I agree but can we file a 420 or 406 case as the amount which she has taken apart from cheque amount seems to be used for other purpose than what was informed to my father..any opinion for 420/406 or any other police case? We are planning for money recovery as well. Any category in money recovery suit which can help us recover faster?

Advocate Bhartesh goyal (advocate)     13 December 2025

No case of sec 420/406 IPC is made out on given facts.

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate)     13 December 2025

No criminal complaint will be entertained by police without any substantial documentary evidence besides your father has already initiated cheque bounce case hence police may not entertain a criminal complaint on the same subject.

Dr. J C Vashista (Advocate )     15 December 2025

If you are so keen to file a criminal case you / your lawyer may file a complaint u/s 200 CrPC before jurisdictional magistrate, besides filing a suit for recovery and complaint u/s 138 NI Act, as per law.

MCO Legals (Law Firm)     15 December 2025

Based on the facts stated, your matter has both civil and criminal dimensions, and the remedies are not confined only to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

  1. Cheque Bounce Proceedings (Section 138, NI Act)
    You have already taken the correct step by initiating proceedings under Section 138 for the dishonoured cheques. Once a bailable warrant has been issued and the accused is absconding, you may move an application for conversion into a non-bailable warrant and, if necessary, seek proclamation proceedings under Section 82 CrPC followed by attachment under Section 83 CrPC. This strengthens pressure for court appearance.

  2. Additional Amount Paid Without Cheques
    For the amount transferred through bank channels without issuance of cheques, Section 138 will not apply. However, the bank statements, call recordings, and message exchanges constitute admissible evidence to establish a legally enforceable debt.

  3. Criminal Remedies (IPC Sections 406 and 420)
    If it can be shown that the money was taken with dishonest intention from inception, and there was inducement based on false assurances, a complaint under:

  • Section 420 IPC (Cheating), and

  • Section 406 IPC (Criminal Breach of Trust)
    is legally maintainable. These sections are independent of cheque bounce proceedings and can be pursued simultaneously, provided the ingredients of the offences are clearly pleaded.

  1. Police Complaint
    You may approach the police with a detailed written complaint supported by:

  • Proof of bank transfers

  • Copies of dishonoured cheques

  • Call recordings or electronic communications

  • Timeline of events showing repeated inducement and default

If the police do not register an FIR, a Section 156(3) CrPC application before the Magistrate is an effective remedy.

  1. Civil Recovery
    In parallel, you may also initiate a civil suit for recovery of money or a summary suit under Order XXXVII CPC, depending on the documentation available. This allows recovery of the entire outstanding amount with interest.

  2. Important Caution
    Multiple remedies can be pursued simultaneously, but the pleadings must be carefully structured to avoid contradictions between civil and criminal proceedings. Courts closely examine intent at the time of receiving money when dealing with Sections 406 and 420 IPC.

In summary, continuing with Section 138 proceedings, coupled with a properly drafted criminal complaint for cheating and breach of trust, along with civil recovery action, is the legally sustainable approach for recovery of the entire amount.


MCO Legals

Vidhi Joshi (Trademark Registration Mumbai | IPR Firm | Mumbai | Start Up Lawyer | Copyright Lawyer)     15 December 2025

You are pursuing the most effective legal strategy by considering both civil and criminal avenues for recovery. The existing Section 138 (cheque bounce) case is strong; you must press for the execution of the Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) to compel her appearance. For the second, unsecured loan (where you only have bank records and chats), the most effective legal action is a Civil Suit for Recovery of Money, where the phone chats and bank statements serve as evidence, provided you secure a Certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act to make the electronic chats admissible. Additionally, you should file a Criminal Complaint for Cheating (Section 420 IPC) before a Magistrate for the entire amount, arguing that the promise to repay was fraudulent from the start, as this puts substantial pressure on the debtor and is often the fastest route to settlement.

Jatin Bajaj   19 December 2025

The cheques issued by the were dishonoured and compliant under section 138 of Negogtiable Instrument has already been filled. The accussed has failed to appear before the court despite issued the summon and bailable warrant by the court. The compliannat shall vigrously  continue prosecution under section 138 of the Negogtiable Instrument Act 1881. An application shall be made before the trial court seeking issuance of Non- Bailable warrant due to continous non appearence on bailable warrant. The compliant shall not be compound under section 147 of the act unless full cheque amount along with interest and legal cost is paid by the accused.  For recovery of additional amount, Rule 37 , Civil Procedure Code 1908 i.e summary suit or regular money suit along with section 73 of the Indian contract Act shall apply. As the additional amount was paid through bank transfers, whatsapp chats and messages acknowledging the debt consitute the admissable evidence under section 65 B of the Indian evidenc act. Along with civil suit, criminal action for cheating shall be filled as per section 318 of bhartiya nyaya sahita corrosponding to section 420 of the IPC and file the wriiten compliant with police to register FIR


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