Budgam, Mar 9: A court in Budgam on Monday convicted a man in a cheque dishonour case and sentenced him to one year of simple imprisonment along with a fine exceeding ₹40 lakh.
The judgment was delivered by the Court of Sub-Judge/Chief Judicial Magistrate Budgam, presided over by Abdul Bari, in a complaint filed by Mohammad Amin Hajam against Riyaz Ahmad Khan under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.
According to the court record, the complainant alleged that the accused owed him Rs 30 lakh for coal supplied to a brick kiln run by the accused. To clear the liability, the accused issued six cheques of Rs 5 lakh each in December 2018. When the complainant presented the cheques at J&K Bank, Budgam branch, they were returned unpaid on January 1, 2019 due to “insufficient funds”.
The complainant subsequently served a legal notice to the accused on January 22, 2019 demanding payment within the statutory period. However, the accused failed to respond or clear the dues, prompting the complainant to file a case before the court on February 16, 2019.
During the trial, the complainant produced several witnesses who testified that the accused had purchased coal worth lakhs for his brick kiln and had issued the cheques towards repayment of the outstanding amount. The bank manager also confirmed that the cheques were dishonoured due to lack of sufficient funds in the accused’s account.
In his defence, the accused claimed the cheques were issued as advance payment for coal supply that was allegedly not delivered. However, the court observed that several defence witnesses admitted that the accused had indeed issued the cheques to the complainant.
After examining the evidence and legal provisions under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the court held that the complainant had successfully proved that the cheques were issued towards a legally enforceable debt and were dishonoured due to insufficient funds.
The court accordingly convicted the accused and sentenced him to one year of simple imprisonment. It also imposed a fine of Rs 40.35 lakh, which includes the cheque amount of Rs 30 lakh and 6 percent interest, directing that the amount be paid to the complainant within one month after the appeal period.
The court further ruled that if the accused fails to pay the fine, he will undergo an additional three months of simple imprisonment. The accused has been sent to Central Jail Srinagar to serve the sentence.
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