Srinagar: The court of Judge Small Causes on Tuesday convicted a city suburb resident for the crime of issuing a cheque that bounced in the bank and laid a penalty of Rs 26.5 lakhs on him besides one-year imprisonment.
The conviction was ordered by Judge Tabasum in a complaint under the provisions of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act read with Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.
The complaint was filed by Bilal Ahmad Bhat against Mohammad Shafi Bhat son of Abdul Rahim Bhat resident of Nadirgund Peerbagh Srinagar.
The complaint stated that the accused is a land broker and lives in the neighbourhood of the complainant. The accused person would often discuss domestic and social issues with the complainant and had sought financial assistance and providing of loans to various persons having high influence, it said.
“It was under the garb of providing financial/loan assistance to the complainant, the accused person had taken an amount of Rupees Four Crores and Ten Lakhs from the complainant and had promised to pay an amount of Rupees Eleven Crores to the complainant. The accused person, however, paid and returned an amount of Rupees One Crore only to the complainant and has been delaying the payment of remaining Three Crores and Ten Lakhs towards the complainant”, read the complaint.
It stated “the complainant had sold his ancestral property in order to pay an amount of Rupees Four Crores and Ten Lakhs to the accused in lieu of the payment of Rupees Eleven Crores in favour of the accused as loan facility”.
“However, the accused neither provided the loan facility to the complainant nor had returned the actual amount paid by the complainant which resulted in causing a great suffering and huge loss to the complainant”, it read.
It further states “the accused finally issued cheques totalling an amount of Rupees Forty Seven lakhs”.
The cheques however bounced on January 14, 2021 for the lack of sufficient funds.
After the case went to the court the accused stated that he is an illiterate person. “Under the garb of me being illiterate the complainant had got an agreement signed on my part,” he stated before the court.
He said “in terms of the agreement I had issued the cheques in question in respect of the payment of Rupees Sixty Lakhs to the owner of a house for its purchase”.
The accused denied in verbatim the allegations levelled against him by the complainant.
Weighing the arguments, evidences and witnesses the court concluded that the accused has failed to prove his stand that the cheques were issued by him for an amount of rupees 60 lacs for the purpose of purchase of house.
It found the complainant had on the other hand been able to prove his claim.
It said the accused has committed offence u/s 138 read with section 142 of Negotiable Instruments Act adding it is not established that the accused has committed an offence u/s 420 IPC.
“Therefore, accused Mohammad Shafi Bhat is convicted for commission of offence u/s 138 Negotiable Instruments Act only. Accordingly, the accused was sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of one year.
It sentenced the accused by way of “fine of Rs cheque amount plus half of the cheque amount as the case was of 2021 only. Accused was also directed to pay an amount of Rs 3 lakhs as compensation to the complainant and pay him a total amount to Rs 73. 5 lakhs.
The accused stands already lodged up in Kotbalwal Jail.
The judge ordered “the fine imposed shall be recovered by issuance of levy warrant to be executed by District Collector Srinagar authorising him to realize the total amount by execution /attachment through civil process against both movable and immovable property of the accused”.
