Cheque Case Appeal in Bangladesh 2026: The 50% Deposit, Forum, Deadlines and Revision

Cheque case appeal Bangladesh: the post-conviction framework in 2026

A cheque case appeal Bangladesh courts will hear begins with a payment, not a petition. Section 138A of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 bars any appeal against a sentence for cheque dishonour unless the convicted drawer first deposits at least fifty per cent of the cheque amount in the court that passed the sentence. The Appellate Division has held that this condition cannot be waived, postponed or worked around through bail. Everything else in the appellate process (the forum, the time limit, bail, revision to the High Court Division) follows only once that money is in court.

This guide covers the post-conviction stage only. It explains the deposit, which court hears the appeal after the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act 2026 moved smaller cheques to Magistrates, the time limits and condonation of delay, bail pending appeal, criminal revision, section 561A quashing, settlement and compounding, appeals by complainants, and what the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026 did and did not change. For the offence, the legal notice and the trial, read our companion guides to cheque dishonour in Bangladesh and the cheque dishonour legal notice.

Summary: A person convicted under section 138 may appeal only after depositing at least half of the cheque amount in the trial court. A conviction by a Magistrate or a Joint Sessions Judge is appealed to the Sessions Judge, and a conviction by a Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge to the High Court Division. The Limitation Act sets thirty days for an appeal to a court other than the High Court Division and sixty days for an appeal to the High Court Division, with delay condonable for sufficient cause. After the Sessions appeal, the next step is criminal revision in the High Court Division.

Key point: In Pubali Bank v Chowdhury Shamim Hamid (11 June 2024) the Appellate Division set aside High Court Division orders that had released a convicted drawer on bail for one month so that he could raise the fifty per cent deposit. The deposit is a precondition of the appeal itself; bail to present an appeal under section 426(2A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure is available only once it is met.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

What a cheque case appeal in Bangladesh can and cannot achieve

Section 404 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 provides that no appeal lies from any judgment or order of a criminal court except as the Code or another law provides.[3] The right of appeal against a section 138 conviction therefore comes from the Code, and section 138A of the Negotiable Instruments Act then attaches a condition to it.[1] An appeal is a full rehearing on the record: the appellate court sends for the trial court's record, hears the appellant and the prosecution, and decides whether there is sufficient ground to interfere.[3]

Section 423 sets out what the appellate court may do in an appeal from a conviction. It may reverse the finding and sentence and acquit or discharge the accused, order a retrial by a competent subordinate court, alter the finding while maintaining the sentence, or reduce the sentence or alter its nature, with or without altering the finding.[3] It may not enhance the sentence in the convict's own appeal. A cheque case appeal Bangladesh courts hear can therefore end in acquittal, in a fine instead of imprisonment, or in dismissal, but not in a heavier punishment.

Three remedies, three different jobs

Convicted drawers often treat appeal, revision and quashing as interchangeable. They are not. The appeal is the primary remedy and the only one that carries the statutory deposit. Criminal revision under sections 435 and 439 lets the High Court Division examine the correctness, legality or propriety of a lower court's finding, sentence or order, and is ordinarily used after the appeal has been decided.[3] Section 561A preserves the High Court Division's inherent power to prevent abuse of process or secure the ends of justice, and the Appellate Division treats it as an extraordinary power for cases where no other remedy is available.[3] [13]

Civil revision under the Code of Civil Procedure is a different jurisdiction, covered in our guide to civil revision in Bangladesh.

Section 138A: the 50 per cent deposit before a cheque case appeal Bangladesh courts will admit

Section 138A, inserted by the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act 2006, reads: notwithstanding anything in the Code of Criminal Procedure, "no appeal against any order of sentence under sub-section (1) of section 138 shall lie, unless an amount of not less than fifty per cent of the amount of the dishonoured cheque is deposited before filing the appeal in the court which awarded the sentence."[1] The 2026 amendment to the Act did not touch this section; it substituted only clause (c) of section 141.[2]

Half of the cheque, not half of the fine

The deposit is calculated on the amount of the dishonoured cheque. The fine is irrelevant to the calculation, even though section 138(1) allows a fine of up to three times the cheque amount.[1] In Md Abdul Hannan Master v The State, decided on 6 September 2026, the convict had been fined Tk 84,375 on a cheque of Tk 28,125, and the sum he deposited in the trial court before appealing was Tk 14,100, roughly half of the cheque rather than of the fine.[14] Where several cheques underlie several convictions, the deposit is made in each case.[7]

Where and when the money must be paid

The statute requires the deposit "before filing the appeal" and "in the court which awarded the sentence".[1] In practice the trial court directs payment by treasury challan, and the challan copy is filed with the memorandum of appeal. In Md Ashraful Islam v The State the convict deposited fifty per cent of the cheque amount into the Government Treasury, surrendered before the trial court, obtained bail and only then lodged his appeal.[8] An appeal presented without proof of deposit is not maintainable, however strong its merits.

No waiver: the Appellate Division's ruling

The leading authority is Pubali Bank Ltd v Chowdhury Shamim Hamid. The convict had been sentenced on three cheques of about Tk 60.48 lakh each, was arrested, and sought bail from the trial court under section 426(2A) to present appeals without depositing anything. The trial court refused. The High Court Division, in revision, released him for one month so that he could arrange the deposit. The Appellate Division set those orders aside.[7]

The court held that section 138A's non-obstante clause overrides the general provisions of the Code on appeals, that the deposit and the appeal are "dependent on each other", and that the precondition "cannot be curtailed by application of general law". The High Court Division's revisional power under section 439 does not extend to dispensing with it. Section 426(2A) is not inconsistent with section 138A, but operates only once the deposit has been made.[7] The court did preserve the convict's right to appeal upon deposit and left the trial court free to grant bail once he paid.

What happens to the deposit

The deposit is not forfeited simply because it is paid.

If the appeal or revision succeeds, the money goes back to the drawer: in Reba Begum v The State (12 August 2025) the High Court Division set aside the conviction and directed the trial court to let the convict withdraw the fifty per cent she had deposited.[10] If the conviction stands, the courts direct the deposit towards the complainant. In Md Delwar Hossain (Titu) v The State (26 January 2026) the trial court was directed to ensure that the complainant could recover the amount deposited through challan, and in Abdul Hannan Master the deposit was ordered to be handed to the complainant.[11] [14] Section 138(2) separately allows any fine realised to be paid to the holder up to the face value of the cheque.[1]

Petty-fine and guilty-plea bars

Two provisions of the Code can remove the right of appeal altogether. Section 412 limits an appeal after a guilty plea to the extent or legality of the sentence. Section 413 bars an appeal where a Magistrate of the first class or a Court of Session passes a sentence of fine only not exceeding Tk 5,000, a figure raised from Tk 50 by the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026.[3] [4] Fines in cheque cases usually track the cheque amount, so the bar rarely bites, but it matters for very small cheques.

Forum for a cheque case appeal Bangladesh courts recognise after 2026

The forum of appeal follows the court that tried the case. Section 141(c) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, as substituted by the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act 2026 (Act No 65 of 2026, dated 10 April 2026, with immediate effect), provides that no court inferior to a Metropolitan Joint Sessions Judge or Joint Sessions Judge may try a section 138 offence where the face value of the cheque exceeds Tk 5 lakh, and that every other section 138 offence is triable by a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class.[1] [2] The Act repealed the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance 2026 and saved acts done under it.[2]

Cheques up to Tk 5 lakh: Magistrate to Sessions Judge

Section 408 of the Code provides that any person convicted on a trial held by a Joint Sessions Judge, a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first class may appeal to the Sessions Judge.[3] A conviction by a Magistrate in a cheque case of Tk 5 lakh or less therefore goes to the Sessions Judge. Under section 409, the appeal is heard by the Sessions Judge or by an Additional Sessions Judge to whom the government or the Sessions Judge makes it over.[3]

Cheques above Tk 5 lakh: Joint Sessions Judge to Sessions Judge

A conviction by a Joint Sessions Judge also goes to the Sessions Judge under section 408. The proviso sending appeals from a Joint Sessions Judge to the High Court Division applies only where the sentence exceeds five years' imprisonment.[3] Section 138 carries a maximum of one year, so that proviso never applies to a cheque conviction.[1] The 2025 and 2026 revision cases show the pattern: in Reba Begum and Delwar Hossain a Joint Sessions Judge convicted, an Additional Sessions Judge heard the appeal, and the High Court Division then sat in revision.[10] [11]

Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge trials: appeal to the High Court Division

Section 410 sends appeals from a trial held by a Sessions Judge or an Additional Sessions Judge directly to the High Court Division.[3] Before the 2026 amendment, cheque complaints were routinely sent to Sessions courts for trial, so many older convictions were passed at that level. Ashraful Islam (conviction by an Additional Sessions Judge) and Abdul Hannan Master (conviction by the Sessions Judge, Sirajganj) were both appeals in the High Court Division.[8] [14] Under the amended section 141(c), a Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge may still try a high-value cheque case, because neither is "inferior" to a Joint Sessions Judge; if one does, the appeal lies to the High Court Division.

The table below maps the routes. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

Time limits for a cheque case appeal Bangladesh courts enforce

The Negotiable Instruments Act sets no appeal period of its own, so the Limitation Act 1908 applies. Its First Schedule allows thirty days for an appeal under the Code of Criminal Procedure to a court other than the High Court Division (article 154) and sixty days for an appeal against conviction to the High Court Division (article 155).[6] Section 12 of the Limitation Act excludes the day the judgment was pronounced and the time needed to obtain a copy of the sentence or order appealed from.[5] Apply for the certified copy on the day of judgment and keep the application and delivery dates on file.

The deposit does not stop the clock

Raising fifty per cent of a large cheque can take weeks. Nothing in section 138A extends the limitation period while the drawer gathers the money, and the Appellate Division has rejected bail designed to buy that time.[1] [7] A drawer who expects a conviction should plan the deposit before judgment, not after it.

Condonation of delay under section 5

Section 5 of the Limitation Act allows an appeal to be admitted after the period has run where the appellant shows sufficient cause.[5] The High Court Division applies it generously to convicts who have been let down by circumstances. On 3 February 2026, in Ashraful Islam, it condoned a delay of 2,596 days where a rickshaw puller had not been told of his conviction by his lawyer, had deposited the fifty per cent as soon as he learned of it, and had later discovered that the appeal had never been filed. The court relied on the principle that an appeal is a convict's legitimate right that should not be defeated merely on the ground of limitation.[8]

Fugitives lose the indulgence

The same generosity is not extended to a convict who evades the court. On 12 March 2026, in Alhaj Mohammad Dulal Hossain Khan v The State, the High Court Division refused to condone a delay of 2,496 days. In 2019 another bench had granted the convict two months' bail in revision to deposit fifty per cent of the cheque amount and file his appeal. He did neither, the bail lapsed, and he remained at large until his arrest in 2024. The court held that he was a fugitive from justice and not entitled to relief, and discharged the Rule.[9]

How long the appeal should take

Section 442A of the Code directs appellate and revisional courts to dispose of appeals and revisions within ninety working days from service of notice.[3] The direction is often exceeded, which makes bail pending appeal the decisive practical question for an imprisoned convict.

Filing the appeal: petition, record and hearing

Under section 419, an appeal is a petition in writing presented by the appellant or his pleader, accompanied (unless the court directs otherwise) by a copy of the judgment or order appealed against.[3] A convict in jail may present the petition through the officer in charge of the jail under section 420. The High Court Division in Dulal Hossain Khan noted, among other defects, that the impugned judgment had not been filed with the memorandum of appeal.[9]

Summary dismissal and admission

Section 421 allows the appellate court to dismiss an appeal summarily if it finds no sufficient ground for interfering, but not before the appellant or his pleader has had a reasonable opportunity to be heard.[3] If the appeal is admitted, section 422 requires notice to the appellant and to the government's officer, and the record is called for under section 423.[3] Where several accused were convicted in one trial, section 415A gives each of them a right of appeal once an appealable judgment has been passed against any of them.[3]

How TRW runs a cheque case appeal

The appellate stage rewards preparation done before judgment is delivered. The sequence below is the one we follow on a cheque case appeal Bangladesh drawers instruct us to bring, from the day of conviction to the hearing.

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For complainants, the same timetable runs in mirror image: track the deposit, oppose unexplained delay, ask for the deposit to be released if the appeal fails, and consider an appeal against acquittal where the trial court made an error of law. Our banking and finance litigation practice acts for banks and other payees in high-value cheque cases.

Bail and suspension of sentence pending appeal

For an imprisoned drawer, liberty is the first question in any cheque case appeal Bangladesh courts receive. Every section 138 sentence of imprisonment is one year or less, which brings it within section 426(2A) of the Code. Where a person is sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding one year and an appeal lies, the sentencing court may, if satisfied that he intends to appeal, release him on bail for long enough to present the appeal and obtain the appellate court's orders, and the sentence is deemed suspended while he is on bail.[3] After Pubali Bank, an appeal "lies" for this purpose only once the fifty per cent has been deposited.[7]

Bail from the appellate court

Once the appeal is filed, section 426(1) empowers the appellate court, for reasons recorded in writing, to suspend execution of the sentence and release the appellant on bail or on his own bond. Section 426(2) gives the High Court Division the same power in an appeal pending before a subordinate court.[3] Time spent on bail is excluded in computing the sentence if the appellant is ultimately sentenced to imprisonment.[3] Our guide to High Court bail in Bangladesh explains how bail applications are heard in that Division.

Conditions and online bonds after 2026

The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026 added section 498(2), which allows any court releasing an accused on bail to impose reasonable and fair conditions to prevent abscondence or ensure good behaviour, and section 499(3), which allows bail bonds to be submitted online, as permitted by the court, subject to verification of sureties through their National Identification Number or other appropriate means.[3] [4] In cheque appeals the commonest conditions are deposit of a passport and regular attendance; the 2019 bail order quoted in Dulal Hossain Khan required the convict's passport to be deposited with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.[9]

Grounds that win cheque appeals

A cheque case appeal Bangladesh drawers win usually succeeds because the complainant failed to prove one link in the statutory chain. The proviso to section 138(1), section 138(1A) and section 141 require presentation within six months or the cheque's validity, a written demand within thirty days of the bank's information of dishonour, served by a statutory mode, non-payment within thirty days of receipt, and a written complaint within one month of the cause of action.[1] In Reba Begum the High Court Division held that these requirements are cumulative and set aside a one-year sentence and Tk 6 lakh fine affirmed on appeal, because service of the notice and the date of receipt were never proved.[10]

The grounds to test

• Whether the cheque was presented within six months of its date or within its validity, whichever is earlier.
• Whether the notice was sent within thirty days and served by delivery, registered post with acknowledgement due, or publication in a Bangla national daily.
• Whether the complaint was filed after the payment window closed and within one month of the cause of action.
• Whether the right court tried the case under section 141(c) as it stood on the date of trial.
• For a company drawer, whether each convicted individual was shown to be in charge of and responsible for its business under section 140.
• Whether the sentence is proportionate, particularly where the cheque amount has since been paid.

Our guide to the cheque dishonour legal notice analyses the service and timing defects in detail. On appeal, the task is to show them from the record, because the appellate court decides on the evidence the trial court actually received unless it records reasons for taking more.[3]

Sentence appeals

Even where the conviction is sound, the sentence is open to challenge. The High Court Division has repeatedly substituted a fine equal to the cheque amount for imprisonment. In Delwar Hossain it upheld the conviction but replaced one year's simple imprisonment with payment of the Tk 12 lakh cheque amount, directing the remaining fifty per cent to be deposited within two months and leaving the complainant free to proceed under section 386 of the Code on default.[11] An appeal limited to sentence, supported by evidence of payment, is often the most realistic outcome for a drawer with no defence on the merits.

Criminal revision to the High Court Division

When the Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge dismisses the appeal, the next step is a criminal revision in the High Court Division under sections 435 and 439. Section 435 lets the High Court Division call for the record of any inferior criminal court to satisfy itself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of any finding, sentence or order, and to suspend the sentence and grant bail while it examines the record.[3] Section 439 then gives it the powers of an appellate court under sections 423, 426, 427 and 428.[3] Reba Begum and Delwar Hossain were both revisions of this kind against appellate judgments.[10] [11]

No revision instead of an appeal

A convicted drawer cannot avoid the deposit by skipping the appeal, because there is no cheque case appeal Bangladesh law allows without it and no revision in its place. Section 439(5) provides that where an appeal lies and no appeal is brought, no revision is entertained at the instance of the party who could have appealed.[3] Read with Pubali Bank, the result is that the fifty per cent deposit is the gateway to every merits challenge against a section 138 conviction.[7] The Appellate Division in that case accepted that the High Court Division may examine a trial court's refusal of bail in revision, but held that it cannot use that power to dispense with the deposit.[7]

Sessions revision and its limits

Section 439A gives the Sessions Judge the same revisional powers as the High Court Division over inferior courts, and provides that where a person applies to the Sessions Judge in revision, the Sessions Judge's decision is final as to that person.[3] Section 439(4) bars the High Court Division from entertaining a revision against an order made by the Sessions Judge under section 439A.[3] Choosing a Sessions revision against an interlocutory order in a Magistrate's trial can therefore close the door to the High Court Division on that point.

Section 561A quashing before and after conviction

Section 561A provides that nothing in the Code limits the inherent power of the High Court Division to make orders necessary to give effect to any order under the Code, to prevent abuse of the process of any court, or otherwise to secure the ends of justice.[3] In cheque cases it is used mainly before judgment, to stop prosecutions that are bad in law on their face. In Md Nurul Hakim v The State (11 June 2023) a Division Bench quashed a section 138 prosecution pending before a Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge after evidence had been taken, finding that the cheque had not been filled in by the drawer and that continuing the case was an abuse of process.[12]

The bench added that leaving the drawer to his appeal would be unjust because he would have to deposit fifty per cent of a Tk 1.8 crore cheque, Tk 90 lakh, before filing it.[12] That reasoning shows why quashing is attractive to drawers, but it is not the general rule. The Appellate Division in Mohammad Amir Ali Mostafa v Shah Md Nurul Alam (1 December 2020) held that the High Court Division must be satisfied that other available remedies have been exhausted before quashing, and that the inherent power "should not be invoked where another remedy is available".[13]

After conviction

Once a conviction has been recorded, the Code provides an appeal, and section 439(5) shows that the legislature expects that remedy to be used.[3] A section 561A application against a conviction, filed to avoid the section 138A deposit, invites the objection that it is an appeal in disguise. In our view it should be reserved for a defect that goes to jurisdiction, such as a trial by a court with no power to try the case, and even then filed alongside, not instead of, a protective appeal. Our section 561A quashment practice advises on whether a case meets that threshold.

Compromise, payment and compounding on appeal

The Negotiable Instruments Act contains no provision for compounding a section 138 offence; its penal chapter ends at section 141.[1] Section 345 of the Code lists the compoundable offences by reference to sections of the Penal Code, and section 345(7) provides that no offence shall be compounded except as that section allows.[3] A settlement between drawer and payee therefore does not, by itself, produce the acquittal that section 345(6) attaches to a lawful composition.

The new section 345(8)

The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026 added section 345(8), which lets a court facilitate compounding where both parties agree to compound "any compoundable case", refer the matter to a legal aid officer or the parties' advocates, preserve a lawful agreement on the record and pass orders to implement it.[3] [4] Because the sub-section is confined to compoundable cases, it does not on its terms convert a cheque offence into one. Its practical value is as a model: courts already expect settlements in cheque appeals to be documented and implemented in the same way.

How courts give effect to settlement

The High Court Division has given settlement real weight at the sentencing stage. In Abdul Hannan Master the convict paid the balance and signed a compromise deed with the complainant while his appeal was pending; the court upheld the conviction but set aside the one-year sentence, reduced the fine to the cheque amount, and stated that the main purpose of a cheque dishonour case is to recover the money, not to punish or imprison.[14] In Delwar Hossain, without a settlement, the court still substituted payment of the cheque amount for imprisonment.[11]

The practical lesson for a drawer is that payment, properly recorded, rarely erases the conviction but often removes the imprisonment. For a payee, insisting on full payment of the cheque amount, and on release of the section 138A deposit, is usually worth more than an affirmed prison sentence. For pre-case and court-annexed settlement more generally, see our guide to mediation in Bangladesh.

Appeals by the complainant

A complainant who loses at trial has a narrower right. Under section 417(2), where an order of acquittal is passed in a case instituted on complaint and involves an error of law occasioning a failure of justice, the complainant may appeal to the Court of Session from a Magistrate's acquittal, or to the High Court Division from an original acquittal by a Court of Session.[3] Section 417(3) bars such an appeal after sixty days from the date of acquittal.[3] After the 2026 forum change, most acquittals in small-cheque cases will be by Magistrates, so the complainant's appeal will usually lie to the Sessions Judge.

Section 417A(2) also allows a complainant to appeal against a sentence on the ground of inadequacy within sixty days of conviction, and the appellate court may enhance the sentence only after giving the accused a reasonable opportunity to show cause.[3] On its words, section 138A restricts appeals "against any order of sentence" and so falls on the convicted drawer, not on a complainant appealing an acquittal.[1]

What the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026 changed for appeals

The interim government's 2025 amendments to the Code were enacted as the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026, Act No XI of 2026, and the official text records its changes as taking effect from 10 August 2025.[3] [4] The Act amends, among other provisions, sections 345, 413, 414, 498 and 499.[4] For cheque appeals, four changes matter:

• Section 413: the fine-only sentence below which no appeal lies was raised from Tk 50 to Tk 5,000.[3]
• Section 414: the equivalent threshold for summary trials was raised from Tk 200 to Tk 5,000.[3]
• Sections 498(2) and 499(3): courts may attach reasonable and fair conditions to bail, and accept bonds online with NID-verified sureties.[3]
• Section 345(8): courts may facilitate and record the compounding of compoundable cases.[3]

The Act did not amend sections 408, 410, 417, 426, 435, 439 or 561A, so the forum of appeal, bail pending appeal, revision and inherent jurisdiction remain as they were.[4] Nor did any 2026 statute amend section 138A: the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act 2026 changed only the trial forum in section 141(c).[2] Any suggestion that the 2026 reforms abolished or reduced the deposit is mistaken.

Practical strategy for a cheque case appeal Bangladesh drawers and payees face in 2026

For a drawer facing judgment, the key decisions come before the verdict: whether to settle while the trial court can still reflect it, and how to fund the deposit if convicted. After conviction, apply for the certified copy at once, deposit through the trial court, seek bail under section 426(2A), and file within thirty or sixty days. Do not rely on revision or section 561A to avoid the fifty per cent deposit.[3] [7]

For a payee, the appeal is a stage of recovery. Oppose condonation where the convict has absconded, ask that the fifty per cent deposit be released if the appeal fails, and consider whether a negotiated payment of the full cheque amount is worth more than an affirmed sentence.[9] [14] If you have been convicted, or hold a conviction you need to protect on appeal, contact TRW to have the forum, the deadline and the deposit checked before time runs.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay 50% of the cheque amount to appeal a cheque case?

Yes. Section 138A bars any appeal against a section 138 sentence unless at least fifty per cent of the dishonoured cheque amount is deposited in the trial court before the appeal is filed, and the Appellate Division has held that the condition cannot be waived.[1] [7]

Is the deposit half of the fine or half of the cheque?

Half of the cheque amount. The fine, which can be up to three times the cheque, does not affect the calculation.[1] [14]

Which court hears a cheque case appeal in Bangladesh?

The Sessions Judge, if a Magistrate or Joint Sessions Judge convicted; the High Court Division, if a Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge convicted.[3]

How long do I have to file the appeal?

Thirty days for an appeal to the Sessions Judge and sixty days for an appeal to the High Court Division, excluding the time needed to obtain a copy of the judgment.[5] [6]

Can a late appeal still be admitted?

Yes, if the appellant shows sufficient cause under section 5 of the Limitation Act. In February 2026 the High Court Division condoned a delay of 2,596 days, but it refused relief to a convict who had absconded.[8] [9]

Can I get bail to arrange the 50% deposit?

No. In Pubali Bank v Chowdhury Shamim Hamid the Appellate Division set aside bail granted for that purpose. Bail under section 426(2A) is available once the deposit is made.[7]

Can I file a revision instead of an appeal to avoid the deposit?

No. Section 439(5) of the Code bars a revision at the instance of a party who could have appealed but did not.[3]

Do I get the deposit back if I win?

Yes. Where the conviction is set aside, the court directs the trial court to let the convict withdraw the deposit; where it is upheld, the money is directed to the complainant.[10] [11]

Is a cheque dishonour offence compoundable?

The Negotiable Instruments Act has no compounding provision and section 138 is not in the section 345 table, but the High Court Division has set aside imprisonment where the cheque amount was paid and the parties settled.[1] [3] [14]

Did the 2026 amendments change the cheque appeal rules?

The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act 2026 changed the trial forum, which changes the appeal route for smaller cheques. The CrPC (Amendment) Act 2026 raised the petty-fine bar to Tk 5,000 and added bail conditions and online bonds. Neither changed section 138A.[2] [3] [4]