Koena Mitra sentenced to 6-month imprisonment in cheque-bouncing case; actress says she's framed, will approach higher courts

Koena Mitra has been sentenced to six-month imprisonment by a court in Mumbai in a cheque-bouncing case. The actress, however, said that she will challenge the verdict in a higher court and alleged that she has been framed. 

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As per a report on PTI, the Andheri Metropolitan Court, in an order on July 6, held Mitra guilty and sentenced her to six-month imprisonment. The court also directed her to pay the complainant Rs 4.64 lakh as compensation. 

The case dates back to 2013. A model named Poonam Sethi filed a lawsuit against Mitra after a Rs 3-lakh cheque sent by her for loan repayment bounced. Mitra allegedly borrowed Rs 22 lakh from Sethi over a period of time, but didn’t repay it. 

The model sent a legal notice to Mitra on July 19, 2013 over the same, and then filed another complaint to prosecute her as per the Negotiable Instruments Act. 

Mitra stated that she wanted to face trial after pleading not guilty to the charges. During the trial, all of Mitra’s allegations including ones claiming that Sethi didn’t possess the financial capacity to lend her Rs 22 lakh and that Sethi was involved in an illegal money-lending business were dismissed by the court. 

"Merely because she (Sethi) did not enter into any service contract with production houses for modelling or in 2012-13 she was doing 'small type' of modelling as compared to the accused, who was allegedly a well-known film artist even prior to 2012-13, will not affect the capacity of Poonam to advance such friendly loan to the accused," the court was quoted as saying. 

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The court also stated that if Mitra doesn’t pay the compensation, the six-month imprisonment could would be extended up to nine months. 

When contacted, Mitra stated that she has been ‘framed’ and that she will approach the higher courts. 

Mitra is known for films like ‘Musafir’ and ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’. She recently came back to the spotlight after her song ‘Saki’ from 'Musafir' was recreated for ‘Batla House’ movie.