Chennai, July 18: Confirming a magistrate’s court’s order, sentencing Fatima Fausia, a member of the family of the last nizam of Hyderabad, to a year’s rigorous imprisonment in a case of a dishonoured cheque, the Madras High Court, however, enhanced the fine to be paid by her from Rs10 lakh to Rs1 crore.
Confirming the order yesterday, justice M Jeyapaul held that “considering the scope and ambit of the Negotiable Instruments Act and the value of the cheque for a whopping Rs1,01,15,000, the court feels that the compensation imposed on the accused will have to be substantially enhanced.”
The judge directed that the amount be paid within two months.
The judge said that in default of payment within the stipulated period, Fausia would have to undergo a further prison term of a year.
The matter relates to a March 1991 property development agreement between Fausia and Rajesh Malhotra. Malhotra paid her Rs12.5 lakh. When the deal was not completed, he filed a civil suit in 1995, seeking recovery of Rs87.14 lakh with compensation. The parties, however, reached a compromise, which was recorded by the court.
As per the compromise, Fausia gave Malhotra a cheque for over Rs1 crore. The cheque, however, bounced, giving rise to the criminal complaint against Fausia.
A metropolitan magistrate’s court convicted her in November 2003 and a fast-track court confirmed the verdict in 2005.
–PTI