Court rejects claim that cheques were stolen; orders Rs 15 lakh fine, including Rs 14.75 lakh compensation for lender.After considering the facts and circumstances, the court sentenced Kashyap to two years of simple imprisonment and imposed the Rs 15 lakh fine. A shopkeeper in Greater Noida has been sentenced to two years in jail in a cheque bounce case after a court rejected his defence that he had neither borrowed Rs 9.2 lakh nor issued the cheques used to recover the money.

The accused had also questioned the cash transaction by invoking demonetisation, as the loan was allegedly given a day after the government announced the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.The Special Court in Gautam Buddh Nagar convicted Manoj Kumar Kashyap, a resident of Nayabans in Sector 15, and imposed a fine of Rs 15 lakh. Of this amount, Rs 14.75 lakh will be paid to the complainant, Rajpal, while Rs 25,000 will go to the state government.

Failure to deposit the state’s share will attract an additional two months of simple imprisonment.The verdict was delivered by Suresh Chand-I, presiding officer of the Special Court dealing with cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.Rajpal, a resident of Baraula in Sector 49, works as a tailor in Nayabans, where Kashyap also runs a shop. The two had known each other for around two years when, according to the complaint, Kashyap approached Rajpal on November 9, 2016, for Rs 9.2 lakh to start an electric generator business.

The date became significant during the trial because the government had announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8, 2016. Kashyap questioned how such a large amount could have been lent in cash during that period.According to Rajpal’s complaint, the two signed a written agreement in the presence of witnesses on November 9, and Kashyap issued five cheques from his bank account as security for repayment.

The agreement stipulated that Rajpal could deposit the cheques if the money was not returned by March 30, 2017. Rajpal said the cheques were deposited on May 29, 30 and 31, 2017, at Kashyap’s request.

All five were returned with the bank remark “Payment Stopped by Drawer”.Rajpal subsequently sent legal notices to Kashyap on June 23 and 24, 2017. When the money remained unpaid, he filed a complaint in court on July 14 that year.During the trial, Kashyap denied borrowing the money and claimed that the disputed cheques had been stolen from his shop.

He said he had informed the bank about the alleged theft and argued that he would not have accepted a loan in demonetised currency.The court rejected his defence. During the proceedings, Kashyap acknowledged that he had not filed a police complaint after learning that the cheques had allegedly been stolen.

He also failed to produce a copy of the communication he claimed to have sent to the bank.The court found his defence unreliable. It also dismissed objections raised by the defence over the timing of the complaint and the service of legal notices.During the sentencing hearing, Kashyap sought leniency, citing his age of around 46 years and his small business.

Rajpal, meanwhile, sought the maximum punishment.After considering the facts and circumstances, the court sentenced Kashyap to two years of simple imprisonment and imposed the Rs 15 lakh fine.Kashyap had been out on bail before the verdict. Following the sentence, the court cancelled his bail bond, discharged his sureties and ordered that he be taken into judicial custody and sent to the district jail under a sentence warrant.- Ends