A cheque drawn by Rajesh in favour of Meena is returned unpaid by the bank with the remark 'funds insufficient'. Meena wishes to prosecute Rajesh under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. Within how many days of receiving information of the dishonour must Meena issue the statutory demand notice to Rajesh?

Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 makes the drawer of a dishonoured cheque liable where the cheque was presented to the bank within its validity period, was returned unpaid because the amount standing to the credit of the account is insufficient, and the payee makes a demand for payment by a notice in writing given to the drawer within thirty days of receiving information, usually the bank's return memo, regarding the dishonour. The drawer then has fifteen days from receipt of the notice to make payment, and the payee must file the complaint within one month of the expiry of that fifteen-day period. The fifteen-day period is the time allowed to the drawer to pay, not the period for issuing the notice, so the correct period for the demand notice is thirty days.