Director Rajkumar Santoshi sentenced to 2 years in jail in cheque return case
₹2 crore to the complainant, reported news agency PTI. The complainant, Ashok Lal – a prominent industrialist and shipping magnate from Jamnagar – had claimed that he received 10 cheques of ₹10 lakh each from the filmmaker, totaling ₹1 crore, which subsequently bounced. The advocate for the businessman in the case, Piyush Bhojani, confirmed the sentencing to ANI on Saturday.
According to Bhojani, Lal contributed ₹1 crore to Rajkumar Santoshi's film. However, Santoshi allegedly sent the magnate 10 cheques of ₹10 lakh each. ALSO READ: Bollywood movies in January-February: 2023 vs 2024; Shah Rukh Khan makes all the difference When the cheques were deposited in the bank within the stipulated time frame, they bounced, the businessman alleged.
He added that he first tried to establish contact with the filmmaker over this matter, but all attempts to establish contact with the filmmaker failed. Following this, he filed a lawsuit under the Negotiable Instruments Act and approached the court in 2017 after Santoshi failed to return the money. "Subsequently, the accused applied to transfer the case filed against him to a Mumbai court, which was challenged by the complainant in the sessions court.
The sessions court directed that all cases against Santoshi be heard in the Jamnagar," Lal's lawyer Piyush Bhojani said. The court then issued a summons against the filmmaker but he failed to respond to it. Despite summons, when Santoshi did not appear in the Jamnagar court, it issued a bailable warrant against him after which he made an appearance, Bhojani said.
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