Chandigarh, January 23: A local court here sentenced the Chancellor of Desh Bhagat University, Mandi Gobindgarh, to two-year imprisonment in a cheque-bounce case on Monday. Dr Zora Singh has also been directed to pay a fine of Rs 21 lakh by the court. In addition, he will also have to pay back Rs 21 lakh, the amount that was to be paid by him.
However, he was granted bail the same day. The bail is valid for 30 days to allow him to file an appeal in the High Court.
The complaint against Singh was filed by Mandi Gobindgarh resident Sanjay Singla. The complainant’s counsel said Singla had given Singh Rs 21 lakh as part of funding for his institute. Singh was paying back the amount with interest. However, when other people’s cheques started getting dishonoured, Singla asked Singh to return his money. Singh’s employee then gave Singla a cheque for the amount on September 20, 2016. However, when Singla encashed the cheque, it got dishonoured.
Singla then filed a complaint in the District Courts against Singh under Sections 138/142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. He alleged that Singh had intentionally stopped the payment on his cheque. Earlier, Singh had filed an application in the court saying that he had never signed any such cheque. He had asked the court to verify the signatures on the cheque. His application was rejected by the lower court against which he had appealed in the sessions court. However, it was rejected there as well.
News Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
