Dear Brahma,
Thank you for your query! I am Aadil and I will try to answer your question.
The short answer to your query is YES. He can be imprisoned or fined or both.
Cheque bounce cases in India are governed by the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, under its Section 138. As per the same, a cheque bounce case is filed when a cheque drawn by a payee for the purpose of fulfilling any debt or liability is returned by the bank unpaid due to insufficient funds in the account or because it exceeded the amount that was agreed to be paid by the bank as per an arrangement with the drawee.
Punishment for the same are as follows:
Imprisonment (Which may extend to two years)
Fine (Which may extend to twice the amount of the cheque)
Or both.
It must also be noted that as per Section 140 of the same Act, the fact that the drawer had no reason to believe that the cheque may be dishonoured on presentment for the above reasons shall not be considered a defence.
I hope this helps. Thank you for your time and patience!
Regards,
Aadil