According to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, where any cheque drawn by a person on an account maintained by him with a banker—\n• for payment of any amount of money \n• to another person from that account \n• for the discharge, in whole or in part, of any debt or other liability, [A cheque given as gift or donation, or as a security or in discharge of a mere moral obligation, or for an illegal consideration, would be outside the purview of this section] \n• is returned by the bank unpaid, \n• either because of the—\no amount of money standing to the credit of that account is insufficient to honor the cheque, or \no that it exceeds the amount arranged to be paid from that account by an agreement made with that bank,\nsuch person shall be deemed to have committed an offence and shall, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to twice the amount of the cheque, or with both. \nWhen section 138 shall not apply: unless the below given conditions are complied with—\n(a) Cheque presented within validity period: The cheque has been presented to the bank within a period of three months from the date on which it is drawn or within the period of its validity, whichever is earlier. \n(b) Demand for the payment through the notice: the payee or the holder in due course of the cheque, as the case may be, makes a demand for the payment of the said amount of money by giving a notice, in writing, to the drawer of the cheque, within 30 days of the receipt of information by him from the bank regarding the return of the cheque as unpaid, and \n(c) Failure of drawer to make payment: the drawer of such cheque fails to make the payment of the said amount of money to the payee or, as the case may be, to the holder in due course of the cheque, within fifteen days of the receipt of the said notice.