Criminal Complaint (Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act & Section 420 IPC) (India)

Open Legal LibraryUpdated 24 Jul 2026

This document is a formal criminal complaint template used in India for cases involving dishonored checks and cheating. It allows a complainant to initiate legal action under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act and Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code when a payment check is returned for insufficient funds.

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT U/S 138 OF THE NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS ACT & SECTION 420 OF THE INDIAN PENAL CODE

IN THE COURT OF THE JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE, FIRST CLASS, (COURT NO. 2), PUNE AT PUNE

Criminal Complaint No./200..

Shri .... S .... T .... D ....,)

age 35 years, occupation - business,) Complainant

resident of 1111 Kasba Peth,)

PUNE 411 011.)
Versus

Shri .. I .. S .. D)

age 30 years, occupation - business,) Accused

resident of 1050 Kasba Peth,)

PUNE 411 01l.)

A COMPLAINT U/S 138 OF THE NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS ACT & SECTION 420 OF THE INDIAN PENAL CODE

The complainant abovenamed submits this complaint, praying to state as follows:

1. That the complainant is a resident of the within mentioned address, and he has been running his business of hardware in the name and style as M/s STD Sales Corporation, Pune.

2. That the accused had been a customer of the complainant for the last ten years purchasing goods from time to time.

3. That since there has been business relationship between the complainant and the accused and also that the complainant could repose faith in the accused, he used to accept the cheques issued by the accused against the purchased by the accused.

4. That during the recent past, there have been various transactions between the complainant and the accused as detailed below:

5. That the complainant submits and says that the above mentioned cheques were issued by the accused at the time of delivery of goods and materials supplied to him by the complainant, with an implied promise on the part of the accused that on the presentment of these cheques, they will be honoured.

6. That, however, all these cheques, have been dishonoured by the bankers of the complainant, and the same have been returned to the complainant with endorsement "Insufficiency of Funds in the Account of the Drawer".

7. That the complainant says that had the complainant known that the cheques issued by the accused would be dishonoured, the complainant would never have delivered the materials and goods to the accused.

8. That the complainant does hereby reiterate that the cheques which were issued by the accused in discharge of his liability have been dishonoured for the reason of insufficiency of funds in his account.

9. That the complainant is also surprised that since the date of dishonour of cheques, he has been making serious and sincere efforts to contact the accused personally, but unfortunately the accused has been at large and not being available, and his whereabouts are also not known to the complainant.

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Document info
MS Word. Document created on Fri Jul 24th, 2026. Last updated on Fri Jul 24th, 2026.
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Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (Attribution).
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