Just a day before filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma announced his ambitious passion project ‘Syndicate,’ a Mumbai court sentenced him to three months in prison over a cheque bounce case. On Tuesday, The Andheri Magistrate Court announced the verdict after the case was in court for seven years. The Magistrate ordered the issuance of a standing non-bailable warrant against the filmmaker for his arrest. Notably, the ‘Satya’ maker didn’t attend the hearing.

The court found Varma guilty under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The act penalises cheque dishonour due to insufficient funds or exceeding the account’s arranged amount. Alongside the order to generate an arrest warrant, the court also ordered him to pay 3.72 lakhs as compensation to the complainant within three months. Failure to uphold the compensation order will result in an additional three months of imprisonment.

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A company named Shree filed the case against Varma’s firm in 2018 through Maheshchandra Mishra. In June 2022, the court granted Ram Gopal Varma bail after he provided a personal bond and a cash security of 5,000 rupees.

While announcing the sentence, Magistrate Y.P. Pujari clarified that there would be no set-off under Section 428 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This is because Varma was not in custody during the trial. The details of the judgement are not out yet.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Ram Gopal Varma announced his next project, ‘Syndicate’ with which he seeks to wash away his ‘cinema sins.’ Touted as a hard-boiled crime saga, the film will hinge upon blood-churning horrors- these are not supernatural but very human. He claims that the film is futuristic not because of its setting. However, it is because it will be something that can transpire anytime in the future, maybe the very next day.

“ONLY MAN CAN BE THE MOST TERRIFYING ANIMAL “

In CONTINUATION to my CONFESSION note on SATYA film , I DECIDED to make the BIGGEST film ever

The film is called SYNDICATE

It’s about a terrifying organisation which threatens the very EXISTENCE of INDIA

The CONCEPT

STREET…

— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) January 22, 2025

Also read: “Only Man Can Be the Most Terrifying Animal”: Ram Gopal Varma announces crime saga ‘Syndicate’