Negotiable instrument act

In accordance with the Negotiable Instruments Act, a legal notice must be dispatched within 30 days from the occurrence of a cheque bounce. Subsequently, the filing of a case must take place within a total of 45 days, comprising the initial 30 days for sending the legal notice and an additional 15 days.

 If the case is initiated beyond this specified timeframe, it will be deemed time-barred.

In your case you have the delivery report obtained through India posts tracking the consignment website and the date of delivery is as shown in the report, therefore you may have to allow 15 days time for him to comply with the demands made, after that you can proceed to file the cheque bounce case within 30 days from the date of expiry of the 15 days time .

Demand notice delivered  to accused on 24th Feb 2024, 15 days period to comply with  notice will expire on 10th march 2024 and thereafter within 30 days of expiry of such period you can file complaint before court and,last date to file complaint will be 9th April 2024.

• Notice sent: December 5, 2024
• Notice received: February 24, 2024

As per Section 138 of the NI Act, you need to wait for at least 15 days after the notice is received by the accused before filing a complaint. In your case, the 15th day falls on March 9, 2024. Therefore, you can file the complaint any time after that.

There's no strict "last date" to file the complaint, but there is a limitation period of one month from the date when you could have filed it (which is 15 days after the notice is received). If you wait beyond this period, you may need to file an application to the court explaining the delay (called an application for condonation of delay) This can be complex, so it's best to file your complaint within the one-month window if possible.

In summary, the ideal window to file your complaint is between March 10, 2024 and April 9, 2024. If you miss this window, you may still be able to file but it will involve additional steps.