Court convicts businessman in cheque bounce case

A businessman has been convicted in a cheque bounce case by a city court, saying his defence was false and fabricated and he had taken contradictory stand during various stages of trial.
Metropolitan Magistrate Rajat Goyal convicted South Delhi native Harpal Singh Narang under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act for non-repayment of Rs 2,50,000 to the complainant who had invested the amount in his business after they had entered into an agreement.
The court observed that the accused had not denied the execution of the agreement and issuance of cheques but made inconsistent statements.
"It must be noted here that the defence taken by the accused in the present case has not been a consistent one and various contradictory stands have been taken by the accused himself at various stages in the present trial.

"Thus, the contradictory stands taken by the accused himself go to prove the case of the complainant and show that the defence taken by the accused is false and fabricated one." the court observed.
According to the complainant Sanjay Verma, the accused who runs an elctrical equipment business, had sought to invest Rs 2,50,000 in his business in April 2013.

An agreement had been drafted for the same on condition that an amount of Rs 15,000 will be paid every month to the complainant in lieu of the investment, it said, adding that the accused had also issued two blank cheques as security.

Upon failure of repayment, the cheques were submitted to the bank which were returned unpaid.
The businessman, in his defence, pleaded that though the agreement was for Rs 2,50,000, the complainant paid only Rs 50,000, of which Rs 15,000 had been paid back as instalment amount.
The court, which is yet to pronounce the quantum of sentence, found that all the requirements of Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act have been met.