Raipur. Chhattisgarh High Court has upheld the punishment given by the trial court in the case of 8 checks bouncing simultaneously. Rejecting the petitioner’s appeal, he will have to pay the principal amount of Rs 5.44 lakh along with a fine of Rs 3 lakh within 45 days. Also, he will have to undergo a sentence of one year.
According to the prosecution, Manoj Bithalkar of Bharatiya Nagar Bilaspur made a deal of land in Khamtarai with PK Rai of Bangalipara. The buyer paid Rs 8 lakh 16 thousand to the seller. Apart from this, 8 cheques were given, the total value of which was Rs 5 lakh 44 thousand.
When the seller Rai deposited the money in the bank on the scheduled date, all the eight cheques bounced. After this, he sent a notice to the buyer for recovery of the amount. On not receiving a response to the notice, he filed a criminal case in the district court. The court ordered to pay a fine of Rs 3 lakh in addition to Rs 5 lakh 44 thousand. Along with this, a sentence of one year was also given. Against this order, the buyer filed a criminal revision petition in the High Court. It was argued that only 3 cases of cheque bounce can be filed simultaneously. In this, the order has been passed on the basis of 8 cheques.
On behalf of the non-applicant Rai, his advocate Dheeraj Wankhede said that all the cheques bounced on the same day, so they cannot be considered as separate cases. Agreeing with this argument, the High Court has asked to pay the amount within 45 days as per the order of the trial court. The court has also kept the sentence of one year intact.
