Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (MS)
Mangaluru, Aug 27: Cinema and TV actress Padmaja Rao has been sentenced to three months of simple imprisonment and fined Rs 40.20 lac by the eighth JMFC court of the city in a cheque bounce case.
Actress Padmaja Rao had taken a hand loan of Rs 40 lac and provided a cheque as security on June 17, 2020, from her account at ICICI Bank's Banashankari branch. However, when the cheque was presented to the bank, it was dishonoured due to insufficient funds. Despite being served notice to repay the amount by June 30, 2020, she failed to do so, according to the complainant, Veerendra Shetty, owner of Veeru Talkies and a resident of Maryhill in Mangaluru.
When Padmaja Rao attended the hearing after being served a summons, she claimed in court that she had not taken any loan from Veerendra and had not given him any cheque. Her lawyer argued that Veerendra Shetty had accused Padmaja of cheating to the tune of Rs 52.70 lac in a case filed at the J P Nagar police station. The defence also argued that the cheque in question had been stolen from Padmaja Rao's house and that her signature had been forged. However, the lawyer for Padmaja failed to provide proof of these claims.
Justice Fawaz P A of the 8th JMFC court, in his verdict, ordered Padmaja Rao to pay a fine of Rs 40.20 lac, of which Rs 40.17 lac is to be given to the complainant, and Rs 3,000 to the court.