The Supreme Court has ruled in the case of Tameshwar Vaishanav vs Ramvishal Gupta that if the payee or the holder of the cheque does not file a complaint of dishonour within the prescribed time, he cannot issue a second notice and then file a complaint again. Notice with respect to a cheque can be issued only once. The deadline or limitation starts from the date of the first notice. Later notices do not matter, the judgement stated while interpreting Sections 138 and 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. According to the Act, the notice of dishonour of a cheque due to insufficiency in the account should be sent to the drawer of the cheque within 30 days of the dishonour. If the drawer of the cheque does not pay within 15 days thereafter, the holder of the cheque may file a criminal complaint.
