NEW DELHI, Feb 17: The noted filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi has been sentenced to two years in jail and fined ₹ 2 crore by a local court in Jamnagar in Gujarat for bounced cheques. The court has granted the filmmaker a 30-day stay to appeal against the order.
The complainant, industrialist and shipping magnate Ashok Lal, had reportedly given ₹ 1 crore as a loan to Mr Santoshi for a film project. The filmmaker wrote him 10 cheques of ₹ 10 lakh each to repay the amount, Mr Lal said in his complaint. However, when he went to encash the cheques, they bounced due to lack of funds, Mr Lal claimed.
Mr Lal said he first tried to get in touch with the filmmaker when the cheques bounced. However, all his attempts failed following which he filed a lawsuit under the Negotiable Instruments Act. Rajkumar Santoshi is known for super-hit films like Ghayal, Ghatak, and Damini. His upcoming film “Lahore 1947” is being produced by Aamir Khan Productions and stars Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta in the lead roles.
(Manas Dasgupta)
