Mumbai, Feb 27: The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thane, has convicted a Dombivli-based doctor in a cheque bounce case of Rs 8.5 lakh arising out of a commercial leave-and-license dispute related to a medical shop premises.
The court, presided over by Magistrate Sunita P. Paithankar, convicted Ketan Anant Raj under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act and directed him to pay a fine of Rs 8.60 lakh.
Dispute over security deposit
The complaint was filed by Chandraprakash R. Tripathi, a businessman residing in Thane, who alleged that he and his partner had entered into a leave-and-license agreement with the accused doctor in March 2016 for a medical shop premises at Dombivli (East). As part of the transaction, a security deposit of Rs 17 lakh was paid, out of which Rs 8.5 lakh was contributed by Tripathi.
Cheques issued and dishonoured
According to the complaint, after the business arrangement was terminated due to insufficient income, the accused failed to refund the deposit amount despite repeated follow-ups.
The accused initially issued a cheque of Rs 8.5 lakh but allegedly requested that it not be encashed. Subsequently, three post-dated cheques of Rs 2,83,333 each were issued in July and August 2017 to cover the total amount.
All three cheques were dishonoured upon presentation. Bank return memos reflected reasons such as “Stop Payment by Drawer” and later “Funds Insufficient.”
A statutory notice dated October 26, 2017, was served upon the accused, which was received on October 30, 2017. However, no payment was made within the stipulated period, prompting the filing of the complaint.
Court’s findings and presumption under law
The court, in its order, held that once issuance and signature on the cheques were established, statutory presumptions under Sections 118 and 139 of the Negotiable Instruments Act operated in favour of the complainant.
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Sentence and compensation
The court sentenced Raj to pay a fine of Rs 8,60,000. Of this, Rs 8,50,000 is to be paid to the complainant as compensation under Section 357(1)(b) of the CrPC, while Rs 10,000 will be credited to the State.
The order copy further states that if the accused fails to repay the amount, he shall be liable to undergo three months’ simple imprisonment.
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