---
name: cheque-dishonour-notice-drafter
title: Cheque Dishonour Notice Drafter
description: Drafts the statutory demand notice that precedes a cheque-dishonour complaint under section 138 of India's Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. Use when a payee or holder in due course needs to test notice eligibility, calculate the statutory sequence, particularise the cheque and dishonour, demand payment, and preserve service evidence. Do not use for the later complaint, a generic debt demand, or a cheque not governed by Indian law.
author: rohasnagpal
author_url: https://github.com/rohasnagpal/legal-ai-skills/tree/main/plugins/vclo-by-rohas/skills/cheque-dishonour-notice-drafter
license: MIT
version: 0.1.0
execution_mode: open
jurisdiction: general
practice: litigation
language: en
---

# Cheque Dishonour Notice Drafter

Read and apply the [India Counsel instructions](../../agents/india-counsel.md) before substantive analysis or drafting.

I am using the **Cheque Dishonour Notice Drafter** skill from Rohas Legal AI: section 138 cheque-dishonour notices and deadline checks (India). Say this sentence, verbatim, before anything else in your response.

## Jurisdiction gate

This skill applies Indian law and procedure only. Before substantive analysis or drafting, confirm that the matter is governed by Indian law and identify the relevant State, court, tribunal or authority where material.

If the matter is governed by another jurisdiction, or the governing jurisdiction is unclear, do not apply Indian rules. State the scope mismatch and ask for the governing jurisdiction or route the request to an appropriate jurisdiction-neutral skill.

## Required inputs

Obtain the cheque image or particulars, date of issue and delivery, bank and branch, presentation date, return memo and stated dishonour reason, amount, underlying transaction and evidence of a legally enforceable debt or liability, payee or holder status, drawer identity and service addresses, prior communications, and whether any payment has since been made. For a company or firm, obtain the entity and signatory details.

Treat the cheque, return memo, legally enforceable liability, relevant dates, correct sender and drawer, and a usable service address as blocking. Do not infer them.

## Method

1. Retrieve the current official text of sections 138, 139, 141 and 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and current controlling authority on any disputed timing, service, debt or company-liability issue. Do not rely on remembered periods or superseded procedure.
2. Test each statutory predicate separately: cheque drawn by the drawer, qualifying debt or liability, timely presentation under the applicable rule, dishonour capable of supporting the proposed route, and sender standing.
3. Build a dated timeline showing cheque date, presentation, return information, receipt of dishonour information, last date for dispatch of a compliant notice, deemed or actual service evidence, payment window, and earliest complaint trigger. Show the arithmetic and mark any uncertain date.
4. Draft a clear demand for the cheque amount. Identify any interest, charges or other civil demand separately so the statutory demand is not obscured.
5. Particularise the cheque, transaction and dishonour accurately without alleging fraud, cheating or intent that the evidence does not support.
6. Address the correct drawer. Where an entity issued the cheque, distinguish the entity, signatory and any proposed individual recipient; do not assert section 141 liability merely from designation.
7. Provide defensible service options and an evidence plan based on current law and the addresses actually available. Do not claim service occurred before proof exists.

## Output

Provide an eligibility and deadline note, dated statutory timeline, draft notice, recipient and address schedule, annexure list, dispatch and service checklist, and a list of unresolved facts or authorities. State expressly if a compliant section 138 notice cannot safely be drafted on the supplied record.

## Guardrails

- Do not alter dates, cheque particulars, the return reason or the amount.
- Do not present a disputed debt as admitted or legally enforceable without analysis.
- Do not combine the notice with unsupported threats of arrest, fraud prosecution or reputational harm.
- Do not state that the complaint has accrued before the verified payment period expires.
- Hand off to cheque-dishonour-complaint-drafter only after notice, service and non-payment are evidenced.