Ameesha Patel talks about her cheque bounce case.
Ameesha Patel reacts to maintaining ‘dignified silence’ on the Supreme Court’s verdict on her 2018 cheque bounce case. The actor alleges that the complainant wanted ‘two minutes of fame’.
In 2018, film producer Ajay Kumar Singh lodged a legal complaint against actor Ameesha Patel and her business partner, Kunal, claiming fraud and case of cheque bounce. Apparently, she borrowed Rs Rs 2.5 crore from the Ranchi-based producer Ajay Kumar Singh to make her film, Desi Magic, and claimed that she would return the money upon completion of the project. But the cheque Ameesha sent him is said to have bounced, following which Ajay filed a case against her.
Last year, the Supreme Court stayed proceedings for cheating and criminal breach of trust against her. On Saturday (June 17), she appeared in the Ranchi Civil Court for the hearing, following which it granted her conditional bail. Now, she has been summoned to personally appear in court on June 21.
In an exclusive interview to News18, Ameesha speaks about being inundated with messages from her fans following the bail. Talking about why she chose to not speak about the case earlier, she shares, “I’ve been getting so many messages from fans and well-wishers. I want to say that I’ve maintained a dignified silence on the inspection of the case and I continue to do so but it was high time I spoke the truth and let everyone know the fact about the Supreme Court and that it has come in my favour. I’m relaxed and smiling and going about my daily activities. I have a life and I’ll continue to live it.”
Calling the episode ‘a crazy situation’, she adds, “It’s just very unfortunate. I had chosen to stay silent and I don’t need the publicity. Mr Ajay Singh has taken it for granted and decided that he’ll get two minutes of fame. He should actually tell the press that the Supreme Court has quashed the matter. The bottom-line is, why isn’t he telling the truth to the media?”
Ameesha feels that it was the complainant’s intention to derive fame using her name but that she always had faith in the Indian judiciary to being her justice. “I believe in our judicial system and judiciary and I believed that the law would take its course and it has. The Supreme Court has granted relief to me and have quashed the wrong things that he said. It was all Mr Ajay’s ulterior motives. He was just wanting to get famous by using a name. The Supreme Court has seen it through and has stayed the matter of cheating and breach of trust, which was anyway never the case,” she claims.
The 47 year-old further continues, “I’ve never made a media spectacle or have chosen to speak. I’ve never stooped to his level of calling the media and tom tomming even though the judgment was passed by the Supreme Court months before. I could have called a press conference and spoken about all this but I didn’t want to because I’ve so many other things going on. I don’t need to do all this.”
Alleging that the complainant’s claims are false and how she appeared before the court as a ‘formality,’ the Gadar 2 actor asserts, “I think when something’s in court, it’s the matter of our judiciary to render the justice and not for people like me, Ajay or anyone to talk about it and spread falsehood. I picked up the phone today because I want my fans, well-wishers and supporters to know that everything is fine and that I’m very happy and grateful to the Supreme Court for their correct judgment as they’ve quashed a case of fraud and cheating that he had put on me. When the Supreme Court has passed a judgment, I don’t think there’s a reason to go to the media and talk about it. As far as appearing before a judge is concerned, it’s all part of a legal proceeding, formality and legality.”
According to Ameesha, being a woman made her an easy target. She points out, “I think men sometimes think that they can take advantage of a woman and all the more, when she’s a celebrity, because they get their two bits of fame in their small towns. They become heroes for no rhyme or reason. But I don’t need that false fame and name. I believed in the judicial system and I waited for it to pan out.”
