Judge dismisses case against Ash!
- mid-day.com
A sessions court today dismissed a cheating case filed in a lower court against Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai and her family for non-payment of brokerage to a real estate agent towards purchase of property. Sessions judge H S Deshpande also discharged the actress and her family from the charges observing that prima facie no case of cheating was made out against them.
Dismissing the case, the court held that the complaint was barred by time limitation. The matter pertained to 1998 while the complaint was filed in 2004, the judge observed.
The judge also held that the matter was civil in nature and hence the complainant should have taken recourse to filing a civil suit rather than opting for a criminal complaint of cheating.
Outside the court, complaiant's lawyer, Ramesh Singh said he would move the Bombay high court to challenge the order of the sessions court dismissing the complaint.
Magistrate S Y Shishode had issued summons on January 10 asking Aishwarya Rai, her brother Aditya and parents -- Krishnaraj and Vrinda -- to appear in person before him in a cheating case filed by estate agent Krishnakumar Shetty.
The actress and her family moved the sessions court challenging issue of summons and urging for dismissal of criminal complaint. The sessions court later stayed the summons.
Shetty filed a private complaint in Bandra court alleging that during 1998, he had rendered services to help Aishwarya's family in buying a 3,000 sq ft flat in suburban Bandra. However, they did not pay him the brokerage as agreed by them.
Aishwarya Rai's lawyer Girish Kulkarni argued that no offence was made out against the actress and her family and also that there was no agreement between them and the agent.
However, Shetty's lawyer Ramesh Singh argued that the flat in the `La Mer' building in suburban Bandra, was jointly purchased by Aishwarya, Krishnaraj, Vrinda and Aditya for Rs 1.75 crore and they had agreed to pay him brokerage of two per cent of the value of the flat, which is Rs 3.75 lakh.
Shetty said that he had served a legal notice on them asking them to pay the brokerage charges. But they did not respond, prompting him to file a complaint in the court charging the actress and her family with cheating and criminal breach of trust in respect of their agreement.
