A sessions court in Bombay on March 4 issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma while rejecting his plea for suspension of a jail sentence in a cheque bouncing case. A magistrate had sentenced him to three months’ simple imprisonment and directed him to pay Rs. 3,72,219 to the complainant within three months.
In a March 4 order, additional sessions judge A.A. Kulkarni issued the NBW against Varma but granted him liberty to apply for bail and to make the application for suspension of sentence by appearing before the court. The court adjourned the matter for the report of NBW to July 27.
An Andheri (Bombay) magistrate court recently convicted and sentenced the film producer-director to three months’ simple imprisonment in a 2018 cheque bouncing case. The magistrate said that Varma was given “sufficient opportunity” to make the payment. He added that Varma was not present in court when magistrate Y.P. Pujari convicted him on January 21, and the court issued a non-bailable warrant against him to ensure his surrender. Varma then filed an application before the Dindoshi (Bombay) sessions court against the order. On February 13, the sessions court sought a reply and adjourned the case to March 4 for a hearing.
