Summons or Warrant in a Cheque Bounce Case: What to Do Next

I have received a summons in a cheque bounce case. What does it mean?

It means the person who held your cheque has filed a criminal complaint, the magistrate has looked at it, and the court has decided there is enough on paper to call you to answer it. In legal terms the magistrate has taken cognizance and issued process under section 227 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (BNSS), which replaced section 204 of the old CrPC. The summons names the court, the complaint case number, the complainant and the next date. It does not mean the court has found you guilty of anything.

Before cognizance, the complainant had to show the court the cheque, the bank's return memo, the legal notice, proof that the notice was sent, and an affidavit about the debt. The magistrate checks that the 30-day notice period and the one-month filing period were met and that the complaint was filed in the right place. Since 1 July 2024, section 223 of the BNSS requires a magistrate to hear the accused before taking cognizance of a complaint, and some accused argued that this applied to cheque cases too. The Supreme Court, in Sanjabij Tari v Kishore S. Borcar (September 2025), accepted the view that no pre-cognizance summons is needed in Section 138 cases, and the Delhi High Court's practice direction of 6 November 2025 tells Delhi magistrates the same. So the summons is usually the first thing you receive from the court after the legal notice.

If you never received the original legal notice, or the cheque in the complaint is not one you recognise, write that down now. Those points matter later, but none of them is a reason to skip the first date.

Will I be arrested for cheque bounce?

No, not on a summons. A Section 138 case is a private complaint, not a police case. There is no FIR, no investigating officer and no police custody. The police have no role at all unless the court issues a warrant and sends it to them to execute. Even then, because the offence is bailable, a person produced on a warrant is entitled to be released on furnishing bail under section 478 of the BNSS.

What people actually face in a cheque case is a long string of court dates, the risk of an order to pay interim compensation under section 143A, and, at the end, the possibility of conviction with up to two years' imprisonment or a fine up to twice the cheque amount, or both. In practice most convictions end in a fine or compensation order, with a default sentence if it is not paid. That risk is real, which is why the case needs proper attention, but the fear of being picked up from home on a summons is misplaced.

The arrest risk comes only from absence, as the warrant sections below explain. Bail in non-bailable offences is a different subject, covered on our bail practice page.

How are summons served in cheque bounce cases now? Is a WhatsApp summons valid?

Service in cheque cases has widened a great deal. Section 144 of the NI Act has long allowed the magistrate to send summons by speed post or an approved courier. In September 2025 the Supreme Court in Sanjabij Tari directed that summons in Section 138 cases should also be served dasti, which means the complainant takes the summons and serves it personally, and then files an affidavit of service. A false affidavit of service can lead to action against the complainant.

In Delhi, the High Court's practice direction asks trial courts to use electronic service under the Delhi BNSS (Service of Summons and Warrants) Rules 2025. Complainants now have to give the accused's email, mobile number and WhatsApp details with an affidavit when they file. So yes, a summons received by email or WhatsApp from the court system can be valid service, and treating it as spam is one of the commonest reasons we see warrants in these cases.

The same judgment directed district courts to set up a secure QR code or UPI link so that an accused can pay the cheque amount at the start, and summons are meant to mention this. That has created an opening for fraud. Before you pay anything through a link, confirm the case on the eCourts website, confirm the court and the complaint number, and if possible have your advocate check the order sheet. A genuine court payment is recorded in the case. A link sent by an unknown number with a threat of arrest by evening is not how courts work.

Summons, bailable warrant, non-bailable warrant: what each one means

These are the papers a court can issue to get an accused before it in a cheque case, roughly in the order they appear.

Note that a warrant does not lapse on its own. Under section 72(2) of the BNSS a warrant stays in force until the court that issued it cancels it or it is executed. A warrant from two years ago is still a live warrant.

What to do in the week after the summons arrives

The first date is usually four to eight weeks after the summons is issued. Use that time.

1. Confirm the case online

   Search the case on eCourts Services by CNR number or case number and note the court, the judge's designation, the next date and the stage. Download any orders already passed. If the date differs from the summons, go by the court record and ask your advocate to check.

2. Collect your own papers

   Find the legal notice you received, any reply you sent, your bank statement for the month of the cheque, the agreement or invoices behind the transaction, receipts of any payments, and messages with the complainant. A cheque case is decided on the story around the cheque, and that story is in these papers.

3. Engage an advocate and sign the vakalatnama

   Your advocate files the vakalatnama on the first date and asks for a full copy of the complaint and its annexures if you have not received them. Do not appear alone and answer the court's questions without advice.

4. Decide what your position is

   Either the money is owed, or part of it is, or it is not owed at all. If it is owed, early payment closes the case with no extra cost. If it is disputed, your defence must be specific: security cheque, debt already paid, cheque altered or misused, or no transaction at all.

5. Arrange a surety

   A surety is usually a relative or friend who lives within the court's area and can show property papers, a vehicle registration or a fixed deposit, with ID and address proof. Some courts accept a fixed deposit receipt in place of a surety. Ask your advocate what the particular court prefers.

6. Reach court early on the date

   Cheque courts in Delhi have long cause lists and call matters through the day. Be present when the case is called, sign the bail bond, and note the next date and what it is fixed for before you leave.

What happens on the first date of hearing?

Your advocate files the vakalatnama and you are marked present. The court then admits you to bail. Because the offence is bailable, the magistrate releases you on a personal bond with one surety, of an amount the court fixes, often linked to the cheque amount. The surety signs and shows documents. If your surety has not come, some courts will release you on a personal bond for the day and give time to produce the surety, but do not count on that.

Next, the court explains the accusation to you. In a summons case this is the notice under section 274 of the BNSS (old section 251 CrPC). The Delhi High Court's November 2025 practice direction tells magistrates in cheque cases to put specific questions at this stage: whether the cheque is from your account, whether the signature is yours, whether you issued it to the complainant, whether you owed the amount, what your defence is (security cheque, loan repaid, alteration or misuse, or something else), and whether you want to compound the case. Your answers are recorded in the order sheet in your presence and your advocate's.

On those answers the court decides whether the case is fit for summary trial under Chapter XXII of the BNSS, which is the default for cheque cases under section 143 of the NI Act, or whether it should be tried as a regular summons case. The court may also take up the complainant's application for interim compensation under section 143A, which can be up to 20 percent of the cheque amount. We cover that in detail in interim compensation under Section 143A. If you want to cross-examine the complainant, an application under section 145(2) of the NI Act is filed at this stage, giving reasons.

What should I say when the court asks about the cheque?

Say what is true, briefly and specifically, after you have discussed it with your advocate. If the signature is yours, there is little point denying it. Once you admit the signature, the law presumes under section 139 of the NI Act that the cheque was issued for a debt, and your job is to rebut that presumption with a believable account. A bare 'I do not owe anything' recorded in the order sheet helps nobody and can be used against you later.

A defence that is going to be raised at trial should appear in some form at this stage. If the cheque was a blank security cheque given at the start of a business relationship, say so; our post on security cheques under Section 138 explains when that defence works and when it does not. If you paid part of the amount after giving the cheque, say so and keep the proof ready. If the cheque was stolen or filled in by someone else, say whether you reported it, and when. A defence first heard two years later, at the stage of your statement, is easy for the complainant to call an afterthought.

When Advocate B.K. Singh prepares a client for this first date, he spends more time on the client's answers than on the bail papers. The bail is routine; the answers are recorded and follow the case to its end. If the case was filed against you as a director or partner of a firm, the questions have a different shape, and director liability for a company cheque deals with that.

A warrant has been issued against me. What now?

A warrant is issued when the court records that you were served, or that service is complete, and you did not appear. Courts in cheque cases usually issue a bailable warrant first. If that also goes unanswered, a non-bailable warrant follows. The Supreme Court in Inder Mohan Goswami v State of Uttaranchal (2007) said non-bailable warrants should not be issued casually and that a summons or bailable warrant should normally come first, but once a person has ignored repeated process, courts do issue them.

The remedy is an application to the same court for cancellation of the warrant, filed through your advocate, with you present in court. Explain why you missed the date, with proof where you have it: the summons went to an old address, you were in hospital, you were travelling, the WhatsApp message was not seen. Courts generally cancel the warrant when the accused appears voluntarily, take a fresh bail bond, and sometimes impose costs. The court can also forfeit the earlier bond and issue notice to your earlier surety, so tell the surety what has happened.

Do not send only your advocate with the application and stay away. Most magistrates want to see the accused before cancelling a non-bailable warrant, and an application without you is often dismissed with a fresh date for appearance. Going yourself may feel risky, but in a bailable offence the court cannot keep you in custody if you are ready to furnish bail. Waiting for the police to execute the warrant is the worse option: you lose the chance to choose your day, and you arrive as someone who was brought, not someone who came.

How do I get a non-bailable warrant cancelled in a Delhi court?

Your advocate first checks the order sheet to see exactly what was issued and when, then files the application with a fresh vakalatnama if you were not represented before. Keep the surety ready. Once the court cancels the warrant, it recalls it from the police station and fixes the next date.

If the warrant has been sent to your local police station, ask your advocate to obtain a certified copy or a printout of the cancellation order and keep it with you. Police stations sometimes act on a warrant a few days after the court has recalled it, because the paperwork moves slowly. Showing the order usually ends the matter on the spot.

If the case is pending in another state, the steps are the same, but you have to travel; we work with associate counsel in other cities for this. Do not try to get the warrant cancelled by a court near your home. Only the court that issued it can cancel it.

Can a proclamation or attachment of property happen in a cheque bounce case?

Yes. If the court believes you are absconding or hiding so that the warrant cannot be executed, it can issue a proclamation under section 84 of the BNSS requiring you to appear at a specified place and time, at least 30 days away. It can also order attachment of your property under section 85. Proclamations are published at your residence, in a public place and, sometimes, in a newspaper.

This is serious for a second reason. Failing to appear in response to a proclamation is a separate offence under section 209 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which replaced section 174A IPC. A person who started with a bailable cheque case can end up with a fresh criminal case for non-appearance, which is far harder to explain to an employer, a bank or a visa officer.

If you learn of a proclamation, appear before the deadline with an application. Courts treat a person who comes in before the period ends very differently from one who is produced after it.

I got a summons from a court in another city. Do I have to go there?

Usually yes. Since the 2015 amendment, section 142(2) of the NI Act says a cheque complaint is filed in the court where the payee's bank branch is, if the cheque was deposited for collection there. A Mumbai drawer can be summoned to Dwarka because the payee banks in Dwarka, and a Delhi drawer can be summoned to Bengaluru. Our post on where to file a cheque bounce complaint explains how jurisdiction is worked out, and when an objection to it is worth raising.

You must appear on the first date in the court that summoned you. After that, an application under section 228 of the BNSS (old section 205 CrPC) can ask the court to dispense with your personal attendance and let your advocate appear for you. The Delhi High Court's practice direction says such exemptions should be granted only when the facts warrant it, so give real reasons: distance, age, illness, a job that cannot spare repeated days. Some courts allow appearance through video conferencing on routine dates. Expect to be asked to come personally for the notice, for your statement under section 351 of the BNSS, and for judgment.

If jurisdiction is plainly wrong, for example the payee's bank branch is in Noida and the complaint was filed in Delhi with no connection, your advocate can raise it before the trial court or, in a clear case, in a petition before the High Court. Raise it early. Courts are reluctant to send a case back after evidence has been recorded.

Should I pay the cheque amount at the summons stage?

If the money is genuinely owed and you can pay it, paying at the start is almost always the cheapest way out. Section 147 of the NI Act makes the offence compoundable, and the Supreme Court in Sanjabij Tari revised the graded costs that apply when a case is compounded. If the cheque amount is paid before the defence evidence is recorded, the court can allow compounding without any cost or penalty. After that the costs rise, as the table below shows.

Pay through the court, not in cash to the complainant outside the courtroom. Use the court's online payment facility if it has been set up, or pay by demand draft or bank transfer and have the payment and the complainant's statement recorded in the order sheet. The court then closes the case under section 147 and, where needed, section 278 of the BNSS. A private settlement that is not recorded leaves the complaint pending, and a pending complaint means warrants if you stop appearing.

If the complainant asks for more than the cheque amount, such as interest, legal costs, or settlement of a larger running account, the Supreme Court noted that the magistrate may suggest other routes, including a plea of guilty with a lenient sentence or the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act 1958. The full menu of settlement options, including Lok Adalat and mediation, is in our post on settling a cheque bounce case.

What compounding costs at each stage

These are the graded costs set by the Supreme Court in Sanjabij Tari v Kishore S. Borcar (2025), as a percentage of the cheque amount, on top of the cheque amount itself.

Courts keep some discretion in applying these figures to the facts of a case. The point for an accused is simple: every stage of delay adds cost, quite apart from the time spent in court.

Can I challenge the summons itself?

Sometimes, but less often than people hope. The Supreme Court has held that a magistrate has no power to review or recall a summoning order once issued, so an application to the trial court asking it to withdraw the summons usually fails. The challenge lies in a revision before the Sessions Court under section 438 of the BNSS, or a petition before the High Court under section 528 of the BNSS to quash the complaint.

Those challenges succeed on legal defects that appear from the complaint itself: the complaint was filed before the 15 days given in the notice had run out, it was filed long after the one-month period with no application for condonation of delay, the cheque is drawn on an account that is not yours, or you have been named as a director with nothing in the complaint showing you were in charge of the company's business. Disputes of fact, such as whether the cheque was a security cheque or whether the debt was paid, are matters for trial. A High Court will rarely decide them on affidavits.

A revision or quashing petition does not by itself stop the trial. Unless the higher court stays the proceedings, you must keep appearing before the magistrate. More than one accused has lost track of this, assumed the High Court petition put everything on hold, and found a warrant waiting.

What to carry to court on the first date

Carry originals and a set of photocopies. Courts vary in what they ask for, so check with your advocate the day before.

Mistakes that turn a summons into a warrant

• Treating an electronic summons as spam. Check every court message on eCourts before deciding it is fake. Ignoring a genuine one is how most warrants in cheque cases begin.
• Not updating your address. If you moved after the cheque was given, the summons may be served at the old address and treated as served. Tell your advocate your current address so it is on record.
• Sending only the advocate. On the first date, and whenever a warrant is to be cancelled, the accused must be there personally.
• Settling outside court and stopping appearances. A settlement that is not recorded in the order sheet does not end the case. Get it recorded, then stop coming.
• Assuming a High Court petition stops the trial. It does not, unless the High Court passes a stay order. Keep appearing until it does.
• Forgetting the surety. If you miss dates after bail, notice goes to your surety and the bond can be forfeited. Keep your surety informed.

When should I call an advocate, and what will they need?

Call before the first date, not on it. An advocate who sees the papers a week ahead can check service and jurisdiction, work out whether the complaint was filed in time, prepare your answers to the court's questions, and arrange the surety documents. One who meets you outside the courtroom ten minutes before the case is called can only get you bail.

Bring the summons, the legal notice and reply, the cheque details, your bank statement and the papers behind the transaction. If there is a warrant, bring whatever you have that shows the date of the warrant and the court. If you want an advocate to read your summons before the date, the team of Advocate B.K. Singh at B.K. Singh & Associates can look at the papers and tell you what the first hearing will involve; you can reach us through the online enquiry form. For cheque cases that are part of a wider criminal dispute in Delhi, see our page on criminal cases in Delhi courts.