Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian from Gujarat Devji Fatepara on Saturday was sentenced to two years in jail and fined ₹2.97 crore in a cheque bounce case.
Fatepara had issued a cheque of ₹1,48,50,000 to one Prabhatsinh Thakor as a part of a land deal. However, the cheque was dishonoured on the ground of lack of sufficient balance in his account.
Principal Senior Civil Judge D.S. Thakur at Kalol in Gandhinagar district also ordered that the former Surendranagar MP would have to undergo an additional jail term of three months if he failed to pay ₹2.97 crore as penalty plus the principal amount and interest thereof to complainant Prabhatsinh Thakor.
Mr. Thakor approached the court after Fatepar’s cheque of ₹1,48,50,000 bounced and the latter failed to reply to a notice sent through his lawyer.
As per the details, Fatepara had written the cheque to return money he had taken from Mr. Thakor in connection with a 2018 land deal that failed to materialise. Subsequently, he also refused to return the money, prompting the complainant to approach the court and file the case against him.
Mr. Fatepara was the Lok Sabha member representing Surendranagar constituency from 2014 to 2019. He was denied a ticket by the ruling party in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Earlier, before joining the BJP to contest the parliamentary polls, he was a Congress legislator from 2012 to 2014.
