A superior court here Monday set aside a trial court decision that had ordered a man accused of defaulting a payment two years in prison and a fine.
In September 2018, Judicial Magistrate Srinagar, Abdul Bari,convicted Sameer Ashraf Gilkar of Kawdara and sentenced him to one yearrigorous imprisonment and one year simple imprisonment in a cheque bounce case.
The court had also directed the Gilkar to pay Rs 59 lac –double the cheque amount of Rs 29.50 lac as compensation to the complainant,Muhammad Lateef Paul.
Gilkar through his counsel advocate Muhammad Latiefchallenged the trial court judgment on various grounds including that he couldnot be punished for the offence committed by someone else.
On Monday, after hearing counsels of the both parties, firstadditional principal and district judge, Srinagar, Rajinder Sapru, said thatthe trial court judgment did not stand scrutiny of law.
“I find that the impugned judgment suffers for serious legalinfirmities and also from improper appreciation of facts and law and hence, theappeal succeeds. Impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence are setaside,” the court ordered.
“Appellant is acquitted of the offence.”
The appellant court observed that cheque was not issuedGilkar but his father and that fact did not make the son liable to be convictedunder the law.
“It is evident the complainant had failed to arraign thealleged firm of accused as an accused in the complaint and had failed to provethat appellant and his father were constituting a firm or association or thatappellant had signed the cheque and same was drawn by him with the concernedbank as such, he could have been made liable either personally or vicariouslyfor the acts of his father,” the court said.
In the 2018 decision, the trial court while convicting theaccused had observed that such sentencing serves as deterrence to otherlikeminded criminals.