The metropolitan magistrate court – Ballard Pier – has sentenced city-based builder Niraj Kakad to six months in jail for allegedly providing a cheque for repayment of Rs 20 lakh loan he had taken from a businessman in 2015, linked to an account that has been shut. Following this, the lender — Taro Vazirani — gave him 15 days of time to make the payment but as Kakad failed to return the money, Vazirani approached the court, which later sentenced him to jail. However, the accused managed to secure bail and has also got time to appeal in the high court.

According to sources, Kakad had taken the loan from Vazirani in March 2015 and had agreed to repay by March 2017 at an interest of 2.25 per cent per annum. On March 31, 2017, the accused gave a Rs 81,000 cheque to the lender as part of repayment of the loan. But when the complainant deposited the cheque for encashment, it bounced because the account was closed. Based on a receipt from the bank, Vazirani sent a statutory demand notice to Kakad on June 28 the same year for repayment of the amount, failing which he would approach court to prosecute him under Section 138 (dishonour of cheque for insufficiency, etc., of funds in the account) of the Negotiable Instruments Act.