Ahmedabad Man Sent to Jail as Court Upholds Conviction in 6 Cheque Bounce Cases Worth ₹45 L

An Ahmedabad sessions court has upheld the conviction of a man facing six cheque bounce cases involving a total amount of ₹45 lakh and ordered that he be sent to Sabarmati Central Jail.

Additional Sessions Judge B.H. Dhasura upheld the one-year sentence awarded in each of the six cases against accused Tapan Patel. The cases stemmed from loans Patel had allegedly taken from friends for business purposes.

Borrowed ₹45 lakh from friends

According to court records, Patel had borrowed ₹11 lakh from his childhood friend and fellow villager Daksh Patel after claiming he needed money for his business. Daksh arranged the amount from family members, and the accused allegedly issued a promissory note in return.

Patel also borrowed ₹16 lakh from Ashish Patel and ₹18 lakh from Shakti Vyas, issuing promissory notes to both.

Together, the six cheque bounce cases involve a total amount of ₹45 lakh.

Cheques returned due to insufficient funds

When the three complainants later sought repayment, Patel allegedly issued several cheques. However, all the cheques were dishonoured and returned by banks due to insufficient funds.

Following the cheque bounce, the complainants, through advocate Nirav Bhavsar, served legal notices to the accused in 2017. According to the complainants, Patel gave an evasive reply to the notices.

Court upholds six-year sentence

The complainants subsequently filed cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act before the special court dealing with cheque dishonour matters.

After the trial, the court sentenced Patel to one year in prison in each of the six cases, amounting to a cumulative sentence of six years.

Patel challenged the verdict before the sessions court, but the appeal was dismissed. Since he was present in court during the hearing, the judge ordered that he be taken into custody and sent to Sabarmati Central Jail.