Cheque bounce under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act is a criminal offence.
• It is criminal in nature because it involves dishonour of cheque due to insufficient funds or other reasons.
• The accused can face criminal prosecution, including imprisonment and/or fine.
• However, it is also a compoundable offence, meaning the parties can settle and withdraw the case with court approval.

In India cheque bounce can be both comes under civil and criminal offence as it depends uopn the nature and circumstances. In Criminal Offences - it was defined in Under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, if a cheque issued for the discharge of a debt or liability bounces due to insufficient funds, the drawer can face criminal prosecution. This may lead to imprisonment up to two years, a fine up to double the cheque amount, or both. The payee must first send a legal notice within 30 days of receiving the bank's dishonour memo and wait 15 days for payment before filing a complaint in a magistrate's court. whereas in Civil Offence - the payee can file a civil suit under Order 37 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, to recover the cheque amount along with interest and legal costs. This is a summary procedure, typically faster than regular civil suits. lets understand this with a example In a notable case, actor Radhika Sarathkumar and her husband were convicted in 2021 for issuing multiple dishonoured cheques to repay loans. They were sentenced to one year in jail and fined ₹3.3 crore.Thus, cheque bounce cases can lead to both criminal penalties and civil liabililtes .