Rajkumar Santoshi cheque bounce case: Filmmaker sentenced to 2 years in jail

A court in Jamnagar, Gujarat, condemned acclaimed director Rajkumar Santoshi to two years in jail and ordered him to pay Rs 2 crore to the plaintiff in a cheque return case.

On Saturday (Feb 17), a court in Gujarat's Jamnagar convicted popular director Rajkumar Santoshi to two years in jail and a Rs 2 crore punishment concerning a cheque return case. Santoshi has directed some of Bollywood's biggest films, including Ghayal, Ghatak, Damini, and the legendary comedy Andaz Apna Apna.

Senior Civil Judge VJ Gadhvi imposed a two-year jail term and ordered Santoshi to repay double the borrowed sum to the complainant, Ashok Lal, an industrialist. However, the Jamnagar court granted Santoshi's petition for a 30-day stay of the ruling, allowing him to fight the verdict in a higher court.

The accusation stemmed from a Rs 1 crore loan Lal provided to Santoshi for film production, which resulted in the issuing of ten checks of Rs 10 lakh each. After the checks bounced owing to inadequate amounts, Lal gave him a legal notice under the terms of the Negotiable Instruments Act and went to court in 2017 after Santoshi refused to restore the money.

When Santoshi failed to appear before the Jamnagar court despite summons, a bailable warrant was issued against him, and he later appeared, according to Bhojani.