A metropolitan magistrate court in Chennai has sentenced J Sathish Kumar, a film producer from JSK Film Corporation, to six months of imprisonment for dishonouring a cheque issued to a film financier. The fourth magistrate of Georgetown metropolitan magistrate court, AKN Chandra Praba, found the film producer guilty under sections 255 (2) and 357 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.The court’s decision came after the complainant, Gagan Bothra, a film financier, submitted that he had given a loan of Rs. 2.6 crore to Sathish Kumar in 2017 for a film project. Bothra stated that after repeated requests for repayment, the film producer issued a cheque for Rs. 45 lakh in March 2017. However, when Bothra attempted to encash the cheque at a private bank, he was shocked to discover that Sathish Kumar’s account lacked sufficient funds.
Bothra claimed that the film producer had willfully issued the cheque with the intent to deceive him. Consequently, Bothra lodged a complaint against Sathish Kumar. Following a police investigation and the subsequent submission of a report, the court reviewed the findings and the submissions from both sides before concluding that Sathish Kumar was guilty.
Magistrate AKN Chandra Praba sentenced the film producer to six months of simple imprisonment and ordered him to pay Rs. 35 lakhs to the complainant as compensation. The case highlights the legal consequences of cheque dishonour and the importance of financial accountability in the film industry.