Rajkumar Santoshi granted bail in check bounce case: Key details
Renowned filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi is entangled in legal issues once again—this time in a check bounce case. A Jamnagar court in Gujarat reportedly handed him a two-year jail term and imposed a hefty fine on Saturday. Despite the verdict, Santoshi vehemently denied the allegations. Subsequently, he was granted bail, and his lawyer, Binesh Patel, issued a clarification on Sunday, dismissing the case as "invalid." Here's what exactly happened.
Prosecution's version of events
Per ANI, Ashok Lal—a resident of Jamnagar and the owner of Shreeji Shipping—loaned Rs. 1cr to Santoshi for a film in 2015. Santoshi provided Lal 11 checks—each worth Rs. 10 lakh—for loan repayment, reported The Indian Express. However, when Lal deposited the checks, the bank dishonored them in 2017, citing a discrepancy in the drawer's signature. Subsequently, Lal issued a notice to him and later filed a case under the Negotiable Instruments Act in the Jamnagar court in May 2017.
Court ordered Santoshi to pay Rs. 2.2cr to complainant
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vishal Gadhavi found Santoshi guilty under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act on Saturday. The court sentenced him to two years of imprisonment. It also ordered Santoshi to pay Rs. 20 lakh to Lal within 30 days in each of the 11 check-bouncing cases or face an additional six months of simple imprisonment in each instance. Notably, this represents the maximum penalty applicable in this case for the dishonoring of checks due to insufficient funds.
What Lal's advocate revealed about Santoshi
According to Lal's advocate, Piyush Bhojani, the court reportedly dismissed Santoshi's defense. He stated, "He initially argued that he had issued the check as a surety only and not to repay the said debt, and that the complainant was misusing that check." "However, the defense failed to produce material evidence supporting this claim," the lawyer said. He further highlighted Santoshi's previous conviction in a similar case in Rajkot, filed by one Anil Jethani.
Santoshi's advocate issues media statement
In a statement, Santoshi's advocate, Patel, emphasized, "First of all, the court has stayed its judgment for 30 days, granted Santoshi bail after we sought time to appeal against the judgment at a higher forum." "The prosecution didn't produce any documentary evidence to prove that Santoshi had taken money at all," he added. He further disclosed, "On the grounds of invalid and false claims, alterations happened in the checks." "So, we shall appeal at a higher forum," added Patel.
