Rajkumar Santoshi Opens Up About Court Sentencing In Cheque Return Case, Says He Has Faith In The Judiciary

Rajkumar Santoshi has been found guilty in two separate cases totalling up to a total of Rs 22.5 Lakh. The Bollywood filmmaker has been sentenced to one year in jail and the court has also ordered the complainant to pay the cheque amount within two months. And in case he fails to pay the sum amount, he will be sentenced to one more year in prison.

According to various media reports, Santoshi had borrowed a large amount of money from complainant Anil Jethani. However, the latter gave a legal notice to Santoshi through his lawyer after three separate cheques given by the filmmaker were dishonoured upon presentation with an endorsement of “insufficient fund”. This was followed by the filing of two separate criminal complaints of Rs 17.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh being lodged against Santoshi in a Rajkot court under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

Rajkumar has now reacted to the situation and told TOI, "I am paying the price of being a celebrity. We are easy targets. I have faith in the judiciary and we are filing an appeal in the Courts ahead. We will get justice."

It must be noted that two of the cases were recently heard in the court of Rajkot Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate NH Vasveliya. The court also happened to summon bank officials for evidence and this supported the facts of the complainant.

Eventually, NH Vasavelia sentenced Rajkumar Santoshi to one year imprisonment in each case under the Negotiable Instruments Act. He also ordered the Bollywood filmmaker to pay a cheque amount to the complainant within 60 days as compensation, failing to do so would result in punishment of imprisonment, which would be extended by one more year. The aforementioned order was passed by the Rajkot Court on March 31, 2022.