Jai Sentence to Rajkumar Santoshi

Jai Sentence to Rajkumar Santoshi.Popular filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi was sentenced to two years in jail and fined Rs 2 crore by a court in Gujarat's Jamnagar in connection with a cheque return case on Saturday.

Santoshi, known for directing blockbuster Bollywood films such as Ghayal, Ghatak, Damini, and the iconic comedy Andaz Apna Apna, was pronounced the sentence by Senior Civil Judge VJ Gadhvi. The court also mandated Santoshi to pay double the borrowed amount to the complainant, Ashok Lal, an industrialist.

However, Santoshi's appeal for a 30-day stay on the order was granted by the Jamnagar court, allowing him time to challenge the verdict in a higher court.

The complaint stemmed from a Rs 1 crore loan Lal had extended to Santoshi for film production, which resulted in the issuance of 10 cheques of Rs 10 lakh each. The cheques bounced due to insufficient funds, leading Lal to issue a legal notice under the provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act. When Santoshi failed to return the money, Lal approached the court in 2017.

"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 Jamnagar," Lal's lawyer, Piyush Bhojani, explained.

Despite summons, Santoshi did not appear in the Jamnagar court, leading to a bailable warrant being issued against him. He later appeared in court after the warrant was issued, Bhojani added.