Bangladesh’s Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 contains provisions concerning certain cheques returned unpaid. Section 138 addresses the elements expressly identified in the Act, including the reason for an unpaid return and conditions concerning presentment, written demand and payment. Section 141 addresses cognizance on a written complaint and, following the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2026, identifies the courts stated to try offences under section 138 according to cheque value. These provisions matter because the text connects an unpaid return with stated conditions and a prescribed complaint framework. The official record sets out the statutory language; the effect of that language depends on the facts and law applicable to a particular matter. The provisions and the 2026 amendment are set out below. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The legal frame
Section 138: cheques returned unpaid
Section 138(1) refers to a cheque drawn by a person on an account maintained with a banker for payment of money to another person that the bank returns unpaid because the credit in the account is insufficient to honour it or because it exceeds the amount arranged to be paid under an agreement with that bank. 1
Presentment, demand and payment in the proviso
The proviso to section 138 sets out conditions. Its text refers to presentation to the bank within six months from the drawing date or within the cheque’s validity period, whichever is earlier. It also refers to written notice demanding payment, given by the payee or holder in due course within 30 days of receiving the bank’s information about the unpaid return. The text further refers to failure to pay the stated sum within 30 days of receipt of that notice. 1
Notice methods stated in the Act
Section 138(1A) lists three methods for service of the notice required by section 138(1), proviso (b): delivery to the person to be served; registered post with acknowledgement due to that person’s usual or last known place of abode or business in Bangladesh; or publication in a widely circulated daily Bangla national newspaper. 1
Statutory maximums and an unrealised cheque value
Section 138(1) states imprisonment that may extend to one year, a fine that may extend to three times the cheque amount, or both. Section 138(2) addresses payment to the holder of an amount, up to the face value of the cheque, out of a fine realised. Section 138(3) states that the holder retains the right to establish a claim through civil court if all or part of the cheque value remains unrealised. 1
Written complaint and the 2026 court-allocation text
Under section 141(a), a court may not take cognizance of an offence punishable under section 138 except on a written complaint made by the payee or holder in due course. Section 141(b) states that such a complaint is made within one month of the date on which the cause of action arises under section 138’s proviso (c). 2
The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2026, Act No. LXV of 2026, substituted section 141(c). The current official wording states that, where the cheque’s face value exceeds Tk. 5 (five) lac, no court inferior to a court of Metropolitan Joint Sessions Judge or Joint Sessions Judge, as applicable, shall try an offence punishable under section 138. Every other section 138 offence is stated to be triable by a Metropolitan Magistrate or Magistrate of the first class. The official Extraordinary Gazette record lists the Act as Act No. 65, dated 10 April 2026. 2 4
Reading the statutory record in context
Sections 138 and 141 set out the statutory language on unpaid cheques, the conditions stated in section 138’s proviso, written-complaint cognizance, and the court-allocation wording introduced in 2026. The official materials cited below do not provide case-law analysis, subordinate rules, court rules, registry practice or banking practice. They also do not determine the treatment of a particular cheque, notice, party, date, complaint, court or outcome. Personalised deadline calculations, filing steps, forum selection, bail, arrest, custody, appeals, procedural strategy, notice or complaint templates, evidence handling, bank return codes beyond the statutory wording, civil-remedy analysis and recovery forecasts are not examined in the official record discussed here. The reference to section 138(3) reports its text on an unrealised cheque value. 1 3
Source and date note
The statutory statements above draw only from the official Laws of Bangladesh texts for sections 138 and 141, the official text of the 2026 amendment, and the official Extraordinary Gazette record. These materials were independently rechecked on 21 September 2026. The section pages do not display a general “current through” date, making the date and text of the official record material when considering the framework. 1 3