In a significant legal development, director Ram Gopal Varma has been sentenced to three months of simple imprisonment by a local court in Mumbai due to a cheque bounce case. The magistrate court in Andheri delivered the verdict on Tuesday, also ordering Varma to pay a compensation of Rs. 3.72 lakh to the complainant, a firm named Shree represented by Maheshchandra Mishra, within three months. Should Varma fail to pay the fine, he will face an additional three months in jail.
Notably, Varma was not present in court during the delivery of the judgment, leading the court to issue a non-bailable warrant against him. In response to the court ruling, Varma took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to clarify the situation, stating, “With regard to the news about me and Andheri court, I want to clarify that it is to do with a 7-year-old case of Rs 2 lakh 38 thousand amount, relating to my ex-employee. My advocates are attending to it, and since the matter is in court, I cannot say anything further.”
The cheque bounce case falls under the provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act, which addresses disputes arising from dishonored cheques due to insufficient funds or similar issues. Further details regarding the court’s order are expected to be released soon.
