A Jamnagar court on 10th April ordered filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi to pay his financier Rs. 15,000 for each of the 10 bounced cheques. The financier, who was a close friend of Santoshi, had lent Santoshi Rs. 1 crore in 2015 to make a film. To repay the amount, the filmmaker issued him 10 cheques of Rs. 10 lakh each, all of which were dishonoured by the bank by December 2016.
The Jamnagar-based businessman, Ashok Lal, who had also contested the Assembly polls on a Congress ticket in 2017, then filed a case in the court under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
It may be mentioned here that Santoshi failed to appear in court for 18 months despite several summons. He turned up only on 10th April after the court issued a bailable warrant in his name. The next hearing of the case will be held on 23rd May.
Earlier, a Rajkot-based producer had filed a similar case against the filmmaker.