Ex-corporator sentenced to 3 months jail in cheque bounce case

A court in Maharashtra's Thane district sentenced a former corporator to three months' imprisonment and fined him Rs 3 lakh in a cheque bounce case, citing that he had caused a significant financial loss.

Fifth Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate I.A.R. Sheikh of Kalyan court found former Shiv Sena corporator Kashif Imamuddin Tanki guilty of charges under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (read with section 255(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

The court imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh and sentenced him to 3 months' simple imprisonment. It clarified that failure to pay the amount would result in an additional three months of simple imprisonment.

A copy of the order passed on December 1 was made available on Thursday.

The complainant, Sadikuzma Dawood Khan, a retired Railway Department employee and a resident of Kalyan West, had known Tanki since the 2005 municipal elections, and in 2022, the latter approached him for a loan of Rs 2.38 lakh, promising repayment within six months.

Khan provided the funds in cash and cheques, and in August 2022, Tanki issued a cheque to repay the debt. However, when the complainant deposited the cheque, it was returned unpaid with the remark ''account closed''.

Despite a legal notice sent in September 2022, Tanki failed to return the amount, prompting Khan to file a suit in the Kalyan court.

After Khan's death during the course of the trial, his family members continued the litigation as his legal representatives.

Tanki's defence, led by senior advocate Yasir Peshimam, claimed that the former corporator had borrowed only Rs 50,000 in 2018 and had already repaid the sum, and argued that the complainant had misused a blank ''security cheque'' given at that time to demand additional money.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court noted that the accused had caused significant financial loss and deprived the complainant of his legal dues.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)