On February 17, filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi faced a legal setback as a court in Gujarat's Jamnagar sentenced him to a two-year jail term and imposed a fine of Rs 2 crore in connection with a cheque return case. The sentence was pronounced by Senior Civil Judge VJ Gadhvi, who also mandated Santoshi to pay double the borrowed amount to the complainant, Ashok Lal, an industrialist. Despite the conviction, the court granted Santoshi a 30-day stay on the order, allowing him time to challenge the verdict in a higher court. ALSO READ: WHAT! Rajkumar Santoshi Sentenced To Two Years In Jail By Jamnagar Court In Cheque Bounce Case, Filmmaker To Pay Rs 2 Crore Fine – REPORTS
Rajkumar Santoshi's legal representative stated, "The court has granted Mr Santoshi bail and stayed its judgment for 30 days, allowing us time to appeal at a higher forum." The lawyer highlighted the lack of documentary evidence from the prosecution to substantiate the claim that Santoshi had taken any money. Furthermore, it was revealed that the prosecution acknowledged a third party had collected the funds from the complainant." ALSO READ: DID YOU KNOW? Sunny Deol's Son Karan Deol Auditioned For Aamir Khan-Rajkumar Santoshi's Lahore 1947 - Read To Know BELOW
He continued, "In return, the third party had provided altered eleven cheques of Rs.10 lakh each, which Mr Santoshi was not aware of. The magisterial court overlooked these facts and ruled against us. Therefore, on the ground of invalid and false claims, alterations that happened in the cheques, and the fact that the complainants do not want to present or call in the said third party who had collected the money Mr Santoshi does not know. So we shall appeal at a higher forum with the above-highlighted points and even more."
The complaint arose from a loan of Rs 1 crore extended by industrialist Ashok Lal to Santoshi for a film production, leading to the issuance of 10 cheques valued at Rs 10 lakh each. After the cheques bounced, Lal served a legal notice under the Negotiable Instruments Act, and upon Santoshi's failure to return the money, Lal approached the court in 2017.
The Bollywood veteran applied to transfer the case to a Mumbai court, contested by the complainant. The sessions court directed that all cases against Santoshi be heard in Jamnagar," stated Lal's lawyer, Piyush Bhojani. Following Santoshi's non-appearance, the Jamnagar court issued a bailable warrant, prompting his appearance. Rajkumar Santoshi, known for directing blockbuster films like Ghayal, Ghatak, Damini, and the iconic comedy Andaz Apna Apna, faces legal repercussions in this cheque bounce case. The filmmaker was announced the lead director in Aamir Khan and Sunny Deol's Lahore 1947.
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