Tridhaatu appeals against cheque bouncing conviction

Tridhaatu Asset Holdings LLP and its partners Dhananjay Sandu, Govind Muthukumar, Pritam Chivukula have approached the sessions court against the order of the conviction by metropolitan magistrate court in a cheque bouncing case.

- Charul Shah Joshi

The court has asked the complainant to respond to the appeal.

The four were held guilty in June and were asked to pay the cheque amount of Rs7.73 crore with 9% interest and also undergo one year jail term. The court had, however, stayed the sentence, giving them time to challenge the order.

A month later, they filed an appeal through their lawyer Suraj Iyer, primarily on the ground that the magistrate court had failed to consider several facts on record. It was also contended that the four had no liability towards the complainant but the transactions were with the firms, Tridhaatu Bharadwaj Developers LLP and Tridhaatu Aranya Developers LLP.

The sessions court stayed the order and also granted bail to the three partners. Besides, the case was also referred to Lok Adalat for out-of-court settlement. However, as the talks failed, the court would now proceed to hear the appeal.