MUMBAI: A sessions court here has issued a non-bailable warrant against filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma after rejecting his plea for suspension of jail sentence in a cheque bounce case.
On January 21, Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Y P Pujari in Andheri found Varma guilty under the Negotiable Instruments Act. The magistrate sentenced him to three months in jail and ordered him to pay Rs 3,72,219 to the complainant within three months.
Varma then appealed to the sessions court, asking for the jail sentence to be suspended. However, on March 4, Additional Sessions Judge A A Kulkarni rejected his plea. Since Varma failed to appear before the court, the judge issued a non-bailable warrant against him. The matter has now been adjourned to July 28 for the execution of the warrant. The judge also stated that the accused is free to apply for bail after appearing in court.
The case began in 2018 when a company filed a cheque bounce complaint against Varma's firm. According to the complainant’s lawyer, Rajesh Kumar Patel, the company had been supplying hard disks for several years. Based on Varma’s request, it provided hard disks between February and March 2018, generating tax invoices amounting to Rs 2,38,220.
Varma issued a cheque on June 1, 2018, but it was dishonoured due to insufficient funds. After being informed, his firm issued a second cheque for the same amount, which also bounced because the payment was stopped by the drawer. With no other option, the company pursued legal action.
Ram Gopal Varma is known for directing films like Satya, Rangeela, Company, and Sarkar, among others.