Bombay High Court Orders Release Of Man Jailed Over 7 Years In 17 Cheque Bounce Cases Tied To ₹22.68 Crore Deal

Mumbai: After spending over seven years in jail for defaulting on fine payments in 17 cheque bounce cases, the Bombay High Court ordered the immediate release of Cyrus Kartak.

The case stemmed from a transaction involving MTC Business Pvt Ltd, which alleged that goods worth ₹22.68 crore were supplied to Mintaur Engineering Private Limited. It claimed Kartak issued 60 cheques between July 7 and July 30, 2014, all of which were dishonoured, leading to 17 separate complaints filed before the Andheri magistrate court in 2014.

On May 9, 2017, the Metropolitan Magistrate, Andheri convicted Kartak in all 17 cases. He was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment and fined in each case, with an additional 12 months’ imprisonment ordered for non-payment of fines. The sentences were to run concurrently in terms of substantive imprisonment, but default sentences were ordered consecutively, which effectively led to prolonged incarceration.

Kartak’s conviction and sentence were upheld by the sessions court, after which he moved the Bombay High Court through advocate Mohit Bharadwaj. He argued that all cheques arose from a single transaction and that separate complaints and consecutive default sentences were excessive and illegal.

The complainant’s counsel, Jatin Karia Shah, opposed the plea. Justice N J Jamadar held that detaining a convict for an excessively long period solely due to inability to pay compensation is “shockingly disproportionate”.

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