You have not clarified as to on what grounds the bank has returned the cheque. It appears that the cheque would have been returned to the payee since it is beyond the validity period. Anyway, if the facts mentioned in your question are correct, then this question may be irrelevant since no offence is made in the facts stated by you.
One of the main conditions for the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act to be made out is laid down in clause (a) of the Proviso to this section as under:
“(a) the cheque has been presented to the bank within a period of six months from the date on which it is drawn or within the period of its validity, whichever is earlier;”
It is noteworthy that nowadays the validity period of a cheque is generally 3 months only.
In your case, the cheque has been presented to the bank after about 9 months of the date on which the cheque was drawn, which is much beyond the period mentioned above. Therefore, the above condition is not fulfilled due to which the offence of cheque dishonour under Section 138 of the N.I. Act cannot be said to have been committed.
So, you can reply to notice saying that no such offence is committed since one of the main conditions for the offence being made out is not satisfied.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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