The Kerala High Court, in Rajesh K. v. Asokan P.K. [2026: KER:36763], held that a demand notice issued under Section 138 (b) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (NI Act), is incomplete if it does not specify the amount demanded.
The Court observed that an offence under Section 138 of the NI Act is committed only when there is a demand for the cheque amount and the drawer fails to pay that amount within 15 days of receiving the notice.
In the absence of a demand for the actual or specific amount covered by the cheque, the statutory requirements for constituting the offence are not fulfilled. Consequently, the deemed offence under Section 138 cannot be said to have been committed.
The Court further held that where the complainant fails to mention the amount in the demand notice contemplated under Section 138 (b), the notice becomes defective and incomplete. In such a situation, the recipient is deprived of the opportunity to make payment and avoid the penal consequences prescribed under the Act.
Therefore, such a notice cannot be regarded as a valid legal notice in the eyes of law.
