New Delhi: Upon conviction in a bounced cheque case, a man threatened and abused the judge in a Delhi court, saying, “tu hai kya cheez … tu bahar mil, dekhte hai kaise zinda ghar jaati hai (what kind of person are you … meet me outside, I will see how you return home alive)”.
The judge’s order, dated 2 April this year, noted that after she passed the conviction order, the man “erupted with anger on the judge in open court”, questioning how she could convict him.
The incident happened when judicial magistrate Shivangi Mangla convicted Raj Singh under Section 138 (dishonour of cheque) of the Negotiable Instruments Act.
“[The] accused started harassing the judge in open court, in unofficial Hindi language, with commentary against the mother of the judge. [The] accused was also holding some object, and he tried to throw it on the judge for not passing an order in his favour. Then, he ordered his advocate to do anything to get [a] judgment in his favour,” the order noted.
The order also mentioned that Raj Singh’s counsel harassed the judge too. “… they both harassed [the judge] mentally and physically to resign from job … they both again harassed [the judge] to [compel him to] acquit the accused or else ‘they will file a complaint against me and forcibly arrange my resignation [as the judge said]’,” it noted.
Signed by Judge Shivani Mangla, the order highlighted that appropriate measures would be taken against the convict in front of the National Commission Woman, Delhi, for threats and harassment.
A notice was also issued to his counsel, Atul Kumar—after his misbehaviour in court—asking him why he should not be sent to the high court for criminal contempt proceedings.
The matter pertains to a complaint case filed in 2019 by a firm, Vintage Credit and Leasing Pvt Ltd. The accused had claimed not guilty and sought trial.
According to the conviction order, Raj Singh was the guarantor for a loan of Rs five lakh, which another person, Subhash Chand, took from Vintage Credit and Leasing Pvt Ltd, promising to return the money in 24 months with interest.
However, Subhash Chand was irregular and defaulted on repayments. To discharge the legal debt, Raj Singh issued a cheque as guarantor to the company, but the cheque bounced due to insufficient funds.
Following this, Raj Singh was served a legal notice but failed to pay the amount within the time limit for compliance—15 days—as was agreed.
While convicting the accused, the judge’s observation was Raj Singh failed to prove that his liability stood at a lesser amount than the cheque amount or establish his defence.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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