Sunny Enclave Builder Declared Proclaimed Offender in Cheque Bounce Case

Jarnail Singh Bajwa, the managing director of Sunny Enclave, promoted by Bajwa Developers Ltd. which is an infrastructure development company was declared a proclaimed offender or PO in six cases of cheque bounce amounting to over Rs. 1.94 Crore. According to the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, cheque bouncing is a criminal offence punishable under the Indian Penal Code. It is a cognizable offence and therefore if found to be guilty it is punishable with imprisonment up to two years or a fine which is double the amount which was dishonoured.

A proclaimed offender is one where the court announces the individual as a wrongdoer and guides the relevant police authorities to capture the offender in the name of procedure and keep him under the watch of the court. If the accused does not appear in court after a bailable warrant has been issued then the court has the power to issue a non-bailable warrant against the accused. This warrant will give the police the power to arrest the accused at any given time and place. Also, once someone has been declared a proclaimed offender their passport is confiscated to ensure that they don’t leave the country.

Naseeb Kaur of Kharar, who is the complainant in the case against Bajwa mentioned that Bajwa is dealing in sale, purchase and development of residential as well as commercial properties. She claimed that she had sold around 12 kanal of land to Bajwa’s company in March 2018. In return, she was given 15 post-dated cheques of Rs. 4.95 lakhs each. These cheques when presented by Kaur were returned unpaid, the reason being “exceeds arrangement” which means that there were less or no funds in the drawer’s bank account. When Kaur approached the realty firm regarding this issue, she was asked to present the cheque again for clearance. The cheques were once again returned unpaid, stating “exceeds arrangement” and “account blocked”. After this, Kaur approached the court seeking payment along with confirmation.

A legal notice was sent to Bajwa to appear in court in September 2018. However, Bajwa did not present himself in the court. The counsel of the defendant claimed that an arrangement has been made with the complainant to hand over the plot to them but the complainants stated that no such arrangement has been made. Non-appearance in court allows the court to dismiss the suit if the party who failed to appear is the plaintiff or proceed ex parte if the party who failed to appear is the defendant. This means that the proceedings will go on without the defendant.

For case specific advice one can contact top/best/expert Consumer Court Lawyer Advocate practicing in Chandigarh Panchkula Mohali or Criminal Advocate taking up matters of Cheque Bounce in District Courts Chandigarh Panchkula Mohali Derabassi Kharar.

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