Criminal Complaint under Section 138 NI Act

Introduction

The Section 138 complaint is high-volume work in every metropolitan magistracy in India. A complaint that does not, on its face, satisfy each ingredient is either returned for re-presentation or dismissed at cognizance — both costly outcomes for a complainant already waiting on his money.

The discipline of drafting is to plead each ingredient as a separately numbered fact, attach the corresponding document, and walk the magistrate from the underlying transaction to expiry of the 15-day window without leaving a gap.

When to Use This Prompt

• The 15-day period under Section 138(c) has expired without payment.
• You are within the one-month cognizance window under Section 142(b).
• Territorial jurisdiction is available under Section 142(2) — where the payee's bank is situated.
• All supporting documents are in your file.

Statutory & Case-Law Backdrop

Section 138 is read with Section 142 (cognizance) and Section 142(2) (territorial jurisdiction post-Dashrath Rupsingh and the 2015 Amendment). Jurisdiction lies where the payee's collecting bank branch is situated. Ingredients: (i) cheque on accused's account; (ii) for a legally enforceable debt; (iii) presented within validity; (iv) returned unpaid; (v) notice within 30 days and failure to pay within 15 days of receipt.

The Prompt

Paste into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Replace every bracketed placeholder with your specific facts before generating.

Act as a senior criminal advocate. Draft a complaint under Section 138 read with Section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 before the Court of the Metropolitan Magistrate at [CITY].

Complainant: [NAME, ADDRESS, REPRESENTED BY]
Accused: [NAME, ADDRESS]

Particulars:
- Cheque No. [NUMBER] dated [DATE] for Rs. [AMOUNT] drawn on [BANK & BRANCH]
- Issued towards: [LEGALLY ENFORCEABLE DEBT/LIABILITY]
- Presentation date: [DATE]; Return memo date: [DATE]; Reason: [REASON]
- Demand notice dated [DATE] dispatched on [DATE], deemed served on [DATE]
- 15-day period expired on [DATE] without payment

Plead all five ingredients of Section 138, territorial jurisdiction under Section 142(2) post-2015 Amendment, list of witnesses, list of documents, and prayer with verification.

Anatomy of the Draft

Why the prompt is built the way it is — section by section.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• ×Filing without a board resolution where the complainant is a company.
• ×Bald jurisdictional averment without identifying the collecting bank branch.
• ×Mismatch between the demand in the notice and the amount claimed in the complaint.
• ×Skipping the original cheque from the documents list.
• ×Filing after the cognizance window without condonation application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Section 138 work rewards drafting hygiene more than creativity. Plead ingredients in order, attach the proofs, take the jurisdictional averment seriously, and the complaint clears summoning.