Teacher’s defence in cheque-bounce case ‘illusory and moonshine’: Karnataka high court

Bengaluru: Karnataka high court has upheld the conviction and sentencing of a Bengaluru teacher in a cheque bounce case, citing her flawed defence as "illusory and moonshine".The teacher was convicted by a magistrate court on March 4, 2022, and was directed to pay Rs 8.05 lakh as fine, in lieu of the bounced cheque of Rs 7 lakh. Of this fine, Rs 5,000 was to be paid towards defraying expenses of the state. The teacher appealed before the sessions court, but the appeal was dismissed, after which she approached the high court.The teacher contended she only took Rs 1 lakh as loan from the complainant and he misused the cheque given by her and presented the same by writing Rs 7 lakh as the amount.After perusing the materials on record, Justice V Srishananda pointed out that the teacher failed to take any action in respect of the misuse of her cheque. The judge noted that the teacher and her husband, an income tax dept employee, admitted in cross-examination that they did not take any action against the complainant.In the absence of rebuttal evidence and no action taken by the accused for the alleged misuse of the cheque, the defence was "nothing but illusory and moonshine", the judge held.