Bollywood actress Koena Mitra has been sentenced to six months in prison in a cheque-bouncing case. The actress says she has been framed, adding that she will challenge the order in a higher court.
The case was registered against Mitra in accordance with a complaint lodged by model Poonam Sethi in 2013. Following this, Mitra was asked to pay Rs464,000 (Dh24,713) to complainant Sethi.
“It is a court matter, so obviously we will go to the higher court to challenge the order. The higher court will give us an order [and] only then can we talk about it. Right now, I don’t have anything to say except that it’s a fraud case and I am being framed,” said Mitra.
Sethi’s complaint states that Koena had, over time, borrowed Rs2.2 million from her. When the actress gave Sethi a cheque of Rs3 lakhs as part of the repayment, it bounced, reportedly for ‘want of funds’.
At the Andheri Metropolitan court in Mumbai, Magistrate Ketaki Chavan rejected Mitra’s arguments, which included her claim that Sethi could not afford to lend her Rs2.2 million.
Mitra said that her lawyer wasn’t present in the court during the final argument, so the order was passed without her side of the argument being presented. She added that her lawyers are currently working on a challenge plea.
“My advocate has to appear for the final argument, too, and the magistrate didn’t give me a chance. We will challenge this order in the higher court,” said Mitra.
